


Emotional Connection

by Blue_and_green_Sock



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Ash - Freeform, Ashley - Freeform, Dragon Trainer, Dragonologist Charlie Weasley, Dragons, F/M, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Harry Potter - Freeform, Healer, Hogwarts, Rae - Freeform, Romance, Second War with Voldemort, charlie weasley x oc, physician, study, weasley - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 49,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29132394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_and_green_Sock/pseuds/Blue_and_green_Sock
Summary: Ashley-Rae accompanies her father around the world as he writes his own guides and research papers on magical creatures as his personal physician. Having graduated Hogwarts a year early and received Healer status by age 20, she constantly holds herself to a higher standard than most witches or wizards.Spending no more than a few months in each country or area, she finds it increasingly difficult to make and maintain connections with anyone.Until her father decides to spend a whole year in Romania studying dragons alongside some of the most revered dragon trainers in the world, and where a Mr Charlie Weasley screws up each and every one of her plans.
Relationships: Charlie Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. Arrival

19 November 1995

Ashley-Rae stared out at their packed bags, unable to sleep. It was their last night in Italy, tomorrow they were travelling to Romania. She couldn't sleep before a long journey, even by portkey. She was always tired afterwards, though she couldn't figure out why seeing as she didn't really have to do anything. Her dad said it was the stress that wore her out, and maybe he was right. He usually was when it came to her. 

Of course, staying up most of the night meant she could catch up on her reading, of medical journals or on whatever creature they were going to visit next. This was where most of her stress originated: what kinds of injuries her dad would sustain on these trips, what kind of creatures he could encounter along the way, how to treat everything that could potentially happen. She'd barely been doing it a year, only just receiving full Healer status eight months ago, but travelling and healing him for a year and a half. It was a full-time job, really, with the number of risks he took, one time standing fully in the way of an acromantula, and with the amount of travelling, as well as the fact that she had graduated from Hogwarts a year early and only attended medical school remotely, she didn't have many friends anywhere in the world that she could reliably keep in contact with. 

Distracted by her reading, Ashely soon forgot about everything else, and time seemed to slip away a lot quicker, with the sun soon streaming through the curtains into the living room of the tiny four-roomed cottage they had called home for the past month, and not too long after that, her father was in the kitchen making breakfast for them both before their travels. He always made them eggs and beans on toast before any sort of journey, as it used to be her favourite when she was a child. She didn't really have a favourite anymore, but she enjoyed the little tradition and the good memories that the breakfast brought, so she sat happily eating her breakfast and trying not to think too much about what they had ahead of them.

But by then it was a little late, and they were ready to get to the Romanian Dragon-Trainer's base. She didn't exactly know who would be there to greet them, neither did her father, but they had sent word nearly a week ago that they were all set to accommodate them in a hut, so she just had to hope for the best that they would be ok with her practising her own medicine. That had been an issue at other places not liking her ways of things, so she was ready to take a back seat when performing medicine on anyone but her dad. 

She shouldered her bag, taking a deep breath before nodding to her dad and grabbing a part of the old textbook they always used in time to be transported to the heart of the camp.

It seemed that their arrival had been planned with her dad, with most, if not all, members of the camp there ready to greet them and help them settle to the training grounds. 

"You must be Ashley-Rae." Ashley nodded to the girl who'd fallen into step beside her. "I'm Kalina, just Kali for short though. What's your role?"

Ashley smiled, "I'm a Healer. His personal physician really, but I have my qualifications."

Kali nodded. "Well once we've shown you to your hut, I'll take you on over to the Hospital and introduce you to Pete. He runs the hospital, I think you'll get along well with him." 

Ashley nodded, following along, listening to Kali explain how the whole camp worked, when certain schedules were, what time the hospitals would probably be busiest, and where to find the nearest sweet shop. Kali seemed nice enough, but once the year was up, Ashley knew there was no way she'd be able to ever keep contact. Best not to get too emotionally involved with people.


	2. Princess

19 November 1995

There were only four Healers total at the hospital, including Ashley, so she only met Pete, the head of the hospital as the other two were on the night shift. Seeing as it was fairly slow that early in the morning, they had plenty of time to become acquainted with each other, and Pete asked nearly too many questions about her travelling with her father, trying to find out the extent of her experience with healing and medical care. 

Soon enough though, her skills were put to the test after a few of the trainers got themselves into an accident and had to be carried in to be treated. 

Ashely took a deep breath, tracking people with her eyes, finding out who had the worst injuries and going from there. "Ok, let's take a look at this, ok." She spoke soothingly, trying not to convey her alarm to whoever was lying face-down on the bed with half their back burned off. "We can sort this don't worry, are you in pain?" 

Whoever it was nodded, trying not to move too much, and Ashley gritted her teeth, trying to sort everything in her head out, moving mostly on instinct and muscle memory to get the pain under control and then patching up the wound. Having sorted them quickly, making sure they were comfortable and the treatment was working, she moved on, treating everyone who came her way as quickly as possible, trying not to pay too much attention to the burn treatment she used tearing away the skin on her fingers, having already burned through too many pairs of latex gloves. She wondered if anyone would have a spare pair of dragon-hide gloves, considering her last pair literally got destroyed in Italy. Probably not the best thing to ask right then and there though.

"Hey, Ash, Redhead at the entrance!" Pete yelled over to her as she was nearly finished with another patient. She glanced up to see whoever it was leaning nonchalantly against the doorway, though she could clearly see he was a lot more injured than he was letting on by the way he was holding himself. As quickly as she could, she finished up and jogged over to him. 

"Wanna get to a bed for me so I can check you out?" She smiled as he nodded, limping over to the nearest available bed. Her gaze shifted to his leg where it looked as though his clothes had been melted into his skin, giving him possibly the worst burns she'd seen. 

"It's pretty bad, I know." He grimaced, sitting back, letting her examine him. "Probably should have dived out of the way quicker."

She raised an eyebrow, grabbing a pair of gloves from the side, "well, it's definitely not good. What's your name?" She asked, trying to distract him from what she was about to do. 

"Charlie." He grinned, "nice to meet you. Definitely not how I usually introduce myself to new people here." 

She smiled a little hardly listening, "ok Charlie, this is going to hurt like hell." She gave him something for the pain before grabbing some tweezers and pulling the melted clothing from his burn. She could feel him tensing, and it took everything in her to carry on instead of stopping, knowing that if she didn't remove it, things would go south for him very quickly. 

Barely five minutes later and she was finished, having removed all the melted fabric from him and applied burn ointment and wrapping the wound to make sure it stayed clean of infection. "Ok, well you're benched for the rest of the day because if you get that burned into your skin I'm just gonna have to cut the leg off." She sat back, looking around at the few people left who had been admitted either by her or by Pete.

"Benched? No, no I have to go back out, I've got a class-"

"Cancel it." Ashley raised an eyebrow. "

"But-"

"Look, I don't care if you were supposed to become the new queen of Scotland, cancel your plans. You're here for the night at least, end of discussion, princess."

Charlie looked torn between being scared and outraged at her audacity, but Ashley could see Pete laughing out of the corner of her eye. "I... But what about the babies?" 

Ashley looked away from his pleading eyes, standing and walking back over to her cubby to put away her things. "Someone else can take care of them." She looked at Pete, who was failing badly at stifling his laughter. "I'm assuming you don't listen to instructions all too often?" She turned back to Charlie, who already looked bored. 

"He doesn't." Pete stood next to her, arms folded, looking amused. "There have been times that I've turned my back on him for no more than thirty seconds and he's already gone back to whatever landed him in here in the first place."

"Hey! I'm not always like that!" Charlie protested. "It's just that Laura and James really don't like me and I don't want that all night." 

Pete laughed, shaking his head. "Well, that's your problem, not ours. Besides, it's their job to look after you."

Ashley sighed, checking the time. They had nearly two hours until the end of their shift and James and Laura would take over from them. "Well, you have two hours to come up with an alternative solution that we approve of. After then, you just have to suck it up."


	3. exhaustion

20 November

Ashley lay awake, listening to the dragons outside. She was exhausted, but her mind was racing and she couldn't drift off fully. She sighed, getting up, dressing and stepping out, making sure to lock the door behind her again. Her dad had put a silencing charm around his room to sleep through the noise of the dragons, so she didn't need to worry about waking him. 

She stared at the surrounding mountains and decided that maybe she'd feel better in the open space, so she secured her emergency medical bag on her hip and made her way to the worn path barely visible in the night. It was a bit of a walk, but she didn't mind it, especially when she reached the top, staring out over the camp, the stars, feeling the wind tangling her hair. It was refreshing to be out in the open instead of coupled up in some forest like they usually were. She smiled to herself, watching below the dragons each finding their own place to settle down, some of the trainers keeping watch overnight. The security had increased a lot over the past few months, according to Pete, the main reason being Voldemort's return. There were a few among them that thought that Harry Potter was lying, but extra security with dragons never hurt anyone. If she was honest, Ash didn't know what to think. 

She turned back, to make her way back down the mountain, accidentally falling over her own feet and landing heavily on her knee. She quietly called out in pain, feeling the skin split on impact, sighing as she sat back to check the damage. She cast Lumos, holding her wand in her mouth to free her hands so she could better see, opening her medical bag to try and fix herself up. She sighed, wiping away the blood and wrapping her knee to try and stem the bleeding until she could get back to sew herself up. She didn't trust herself to cast anything on the top of a mountain when she could hardly see, especially when she was already drained from the day. 

Standing, she tested how much weight her knee could handle, cursing herself for not making sure her bag was fully stocked before leaving alone at night, especially on a dragon training camp. Making her way slowly down the mountain was a lot more difficult with a busted knee, but eventually, she managed it, breathing a sigh of relief when she finally reached flat ground, finding it a lot easier once she didn't have to worry about falling down the side of a fifty-foot mountain. 

Eventually, she made it to the hospital, leaning against the door to catch her breath and take the weight off her knee. 

"Hello? Are you ok?" Someone asked, and she nodded, still trying to work up the energy to move to a bed. She could feel blood dripping down her knee, and wondered how much damage she'd really done to herself. 

"Ash?" 

She looked up, nodding, limping over to a bed. "I'm good, I just gotta sew myself up, can someone get my bag from my cubby?" She blinked, trying to focus on whoever was there with her. The two Healers looked a little doubtful but grabbed her bag anyway. She went through it, grateful for the light and for the fact that she had somewhere to actually sit instead of having to constantly check over her shoulder and be on the move. "Ok, here we go." She muttered to herself, glancing up, noticing Charlie int he bed across from her watching, curiously. She cleaned away the blood, trying to see how deep the cut was, grimacing at the sight of it. "Fuck, ok." She pinched the skin together, trying not to show how much pain she was really in as she sewed her knee back together. 

"You must be our new Healer." The girl nodded as she watched. "I'm Laura, that's James."

"Ashley." She smiled, sighing as she finished up and leaned back into the bed. "Crap I'm exhausted, mind if I crash here? Don't feel like limping all the way home tonight." 

Laura nodded, grabbing a few more blankets to fight against the cold for her and letting her rest, going back to James who was sat at the back. 

"Ashley? How did you get injured?" Charlie asked, properly sitting up. 

Ashely could barely form a sentence anymore, exhaustion taking over, mumbling about climbing the mountain before sleep completely took over.


	4. Shower

20 November

Ashley woke in the early morning to Charlie already arguing about leaving with Pete and James. She shook her head to clear it before sitting up fully, watching Charlie trying to limp around to prove he was fit enough to go back to work. "Charlie if you don't sit your ass down in that bed your leg injury will be the least of your worries."

They all turned to her, surprised she was awake. 

"I'm fine!"

She stood, taking something for her pain so she could focus. "You can hardly walk, princess. Sit down." 

Charlie glared at her, grumbling about how he had work to do, but went back to bed anyway making James stare at her, half laughing, half amazed at what had just happened. 

"Are you good to work today?" Pete asked, nodding to her knee. 

Ashley tested It out before nodding, "I can take my full weight on it, I'll be fine. I'll just hit it with a few healing spells before I shower." 

Pete nodded, "you can use my shower if you like, my hut is literally next door." 

She nodded, thanking him, and turned to leave right as her dad appeared in the doorway with a bag. 

"I thought you might have been called back here last night so I brought you some spare clothes." He held the bag out for her. "I gotta go, but have a good day, remember to eat!" He nodded before running off. 

She stared down at the bag. "Sometimes I wonder how on earth he's still alive." 

Pete gave her a strange look, but handed her the keys to his house anyway, taking over from James so he could clock out and get some rest.

She unlocked the door, quickly finding the bathroom as all the houses seemed to have the same layout. She grabbed a clean towel from the pile in the corner of the bathroom, showering as quickly as she could so Pete wasn't alone in the hospital for long. She knew in theory he'd been handling it alone before she arrived, but now she was there, she had to pull her weight. 

She used a spell to dry her hair and a healing one on her knee before she forgot again, seeing it healing partially before she dressed and threw her clothes from last night in the bag and locking the door to Pete's house behind her before returning to the hospital, shoving the bag into her cubby before handing him back his keys. "Thanks, saved me having to walk all the way back to mine." 

Pete nodded, "don't worry about it. If I'm honest I needed you here quickly so I can do inventory and you can watch the front and monitor the few we have in here." 

Ash grinned, nodding, grabbing a pen and moving around to each patient, reading heir chart and talking with them if they were awake enough about their treatments, discharging two of the four still in the hospital. It was different, treating multiple people, working in a hospital rather than on just her father, but she liked it, it suited her. 

"So, Charlie, how are you feeling today?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Can I at least go home to shower?" 

Ash laughed, sitting in the chair beside his bed. "And how are you going to stand in the shower? How are you even going to get there and back? Sorry, Charlie, you'll have to make do with the ones here in the back." 

He pouted a little, but it didn't last long. 

"Let's take a look at how well you're healing." She sighed, carefully unwrapping the bandages from his leg. There was new skin already forming, but it seemed fairly raw still, and Charlie wasn't as good at hiding his pain today as he was yesterday. "Ok, I'll get you some more cream and wrap it again, but you should be good to go home tomorrow morning." 

He nodded, leaning back as she wrapped it back up. "What were you doing last night to split your knee?" 

She glanced up at him, trying to focus on wrapping his leg again before getting into that. "I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk and tripped. Apparently, I landed directly on a rock or something for my knee to split so badly."

"And then you came here and pretty much passed out for seven hours." Charlie raised an eyebrow. 

Ashley shrugged. "I was tired. Anyway, you're all done." 

She stood to go to the back in case anyone needed her. 

"Um..." Charlie started, looking a little embarrassed. "Do..."

She looked at him, curious as to what he was trying to say. She glanced to the next bed over, where one of the other trainers was sleeping, but she closed the curtain anyway. "Spit it out, princess."

He rolled his eyes, but still seemed embarrassed. "Obviously I'm in pain despite the potion. Would you be able to help me over to the showers? Just walking there and back, that's all." 

Ashley smiled softly, "yeah, of course. Come on." She pulled him to his feet, putting her arm around his waist, "ok you can lean on me. I'm stronger than I look."


	5. Company

20 November / 21 November

Ashley was nearing the end of her shift when her dad was brought in, being carried by two other trainers, barely conscious but still breathing, though how Ash couldn't say. It looked as though his entire ribcage had just caved in, along with his foot being completely crushed. "Oh Merlin, what's he done this time?" She hurried them to a bed, looking over his injuries, checking his eyes and neurological function before moving to his crushed bones. 

"Saved all of us from being trampled." One of them sat in a chair. "Should you be treating him? He is your dad."

She glared, shutting him up, casting healing spell after healing spell over him, injecting a few potions into him, watching as a few of his ribs were already healing as she watched, though others would take a few days to be healed fully, at least it was working. 

"Ashley, what- oh." Pete stood at the foot of the bed, a grim look on his face. "Come on guys, let's get out of here. He's in good hands." He ushered everyone else out, closing the curtains around them both.

She sat there, occasionally muttering another slew of healing spells at his body, praying for him to wake up, trying not to let emotion get the better of her. She'd seen him injured before, even seen him like this before, but back then she was all alone and knew that if she didn't keep it together he would die. Now that she had a solid place to work in, had coworkers and others who were just as talented if not more so than her, it was difficult to keep everything in check. 

The cold set in, and Pete stopped by at the end of their shift with blankets, saying he'd be back with dinner for her. She nodded, making sure her dad was warm enough before wrapping herself in a blanket, tucking her knees up to her chest. She knew she wasn't doing him any good there, but she couldn't bring herself to go home without him. Besides, if he woke up she wanted to be able to yell at him first. 

Pete stopped in and handed her a plate of pasta bolognese, asking if she was ok.

Ashley nodded, trying to smile. "He's come through worse. He'll come through this. I just want to be the first person to yell at him when he wakes up." 

He grinned, trying to encourage her to eat, before leaving. She could hear him talking to Laura and James, probably telling them to keep an eye on her for the night, and she remembered that these people didn't know her that well, not really.   
Staring down at him, she wondered what on earth he was thinking of, jumping in the path of a dragon. She chewed slowly, her mind racing, wondering if he was going to be like this until he died, then wondered if this was what would get him killed eventually; she fully believed her dad wasn't ever going to die until he decided to. 

The night seemed to crawl by, though she was determined to stay awake for him, just in case he woke up and needed something.

"Want some company?" Charlie gently opened the curtain, and she could already hear footsteps. Probably James or Laura telling him to leave. 

Ashley looked up at him. He looked genuinely concerned, even though he was struggling to stand with his weight. "Sit down, you're going to hurt yourself." She accio'd a chair from the next bed over, and he sat down gratefully, closing the curtain. 

"I heard what he did. Possibly saved half the camp from the raging dragon." 

Sighing, Ashley shook her head. "It's always something, always someone in danger that he has to save. If it's not me, it's a civilian, or a muggle town, or an endangered crop of something we found deep in a forest. It's always something, never himself."

Charlie frowned, "surely it's good, him saving all those people?"

"It is!" She spoke too loudly out of frustration, apologising immediately. "I'm sorry. It's just... great, he saves all those people. But it's always him, never anyone else. If he hadn't got in the way of that dragon today, I don't know, but maybe someone else would have done it instead. It wouldn't be any better, them lying here instead, that's not what I'm saying. But he constantly puts himself in the way of danger, and even though logically it's the right thing to do, there are always other ways to solve things, ways that don't end up in me treating him for fifty broken bones and a concussion." 

Charlie didn't look surprised at her frustration, or even at anything she was telling him. 

"I travel around with him because when I was eleven I spent my entire summer between Hogwarts and St Mungo's while he was being treated for similar injuries to this. I graduated early from Hogwarts to go to medical school early, attended that remotely through owl service and documenting all of my treatment methods for my dad, before graduating at nineteen. I've given him my life so that he can do what he likes with his, sometimes it feels like he doesn't get that, like he has no regard for his own life."

"Been sitting on that a long time?" 

Ashley nodded, bowing her head. "Sorry, I had no right to release my frustrations onto you. I'm sorry." 

Shaking his head, he smiled sympathetically. "I asked if you wanted company. I had a feeling you were here for more than just to see if your dad was ok. Plus, I saw how pissed you looked when he was brought in." they sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Charlie broke it, asking, "don't you have anyone you can talk to about it all? Seems as though you should probably have someone to hare your frustrations with other than yourself, considering you don't tell him, I'm assuming." 

"Ah," she smiled, "it's not easy keeping in contact with anyone when you travel as frequently as we do, especially now, with You-Know-Who back. Besides, graduating Hogwarts early meant I didn't have a lot of time to socialise with people my own age."

"I think I remember something about someone graduating early... assuming that's you, of course, my younger brother wouldn't stop talking about it, even applied to do it himself and then wouldn't shut up about his application for it being rejected. Had to come all the way to Romania to escape it."

Ashley grinned, "Percy Weasley? He would constantly ask me how I'd managed to convince them to let me skip a year. He might explode if I tell him I had nothing to do with it and it was all McGonagall. Plus, being in Ravenclaw and living in the library all summer my first year, teaching myself second-year helped my case." 

Charlie laughed, "oh I definitely want to be there when you tell him that. Though he's been practically cut off from the family because of his attitude to mum and dad. He's a puppet for the Ministry now."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "he always was a stickler for the rules."


	6. Chapter 6

7 December

Two weeks later, and Ashley could finally take her dad home, though he was still on bed rest for the most part. She was taking care of him as well as she could, really, and Pete even let her have an extended lunch on the basis that someone would disapparate to their house and get her if anything major happened in that time, which was understandable. 

Ash and Charlie didn't really speak anymore, even though he came into the hospital what felt like every other day with a new injury, it was the only real time they made contact. Which wasn't really surprising, considering She worked twelve hours a day every day of the week, and by the time it was over, it was already dark. That, and it was basically time for dinner. There were few things Ashley hated about winter, but the early darkness was one of them. 

She helped her dad get comfy in the sofa bed he would be staying in, for the time being, seeing as it was closest to the kitchen and only two meters from the bathroom. "You ok here, dad?" 

He nodded, settling back, "could you get my books from my room? Just so I've got something to do besides listening to the radio." 

Ashley nodded, retrieving his books and setting them within reach of him before making sure he knew lunch was in the fridge for him and set back for the hospital. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders now that he was home and officially out of the woods. It was a wonder she hadn't collapsed with it weighing down on her over the past several days.   
Of course, she had to put it all to the back of her mind as soon as she stepped back into the hospital; after all, if she couldn't help those who needed her there, what was she doing there? 

Pete nodded to her as she arrived back ready to treat the few minor burns that had shown up in the half-hour she'd been gone, taking one of the beds near the front.   
Luckily it was a simple treatment, so she didn't have to worry too much about what she was doing, getting through everyone as quickly as possible before joining Pete at the back where he was engrossed with paperwork. "Everything ok?" 

He glanced up at her before frowning again at the paperwork. "Yeah, just trying to figure this stuff out. We've switched suppliers, and they have weird paperwork that doesn't make sense to me."

Ashley nodded, leaning over his shoulder to try and figure it out. "Uh... no, I'm already lost. How about you stay trying to figure that out and I'll manage the front? I'll call you if anything major happens, or you'll hear the mass-casualties, whichever comes first." 

Pete nodded, only half paying attention, so she left him to it, sitting by one of the vacant beds in the middle of the room and reading over a new medical journal she'd found and ordered, trying to ignore the growing hunger in her stomach. Skipping breakfast had not been a good idea. 

"It's a bit slow in here." Someone announced, making her look up with an eyebrow raised. "Thanks for jinxing it, Charlie. What've you injured this time?" 

Smiling sheepishly, he held out his arm where three fairly large, way too deep gashes were still dripping blood. 

"Oh, dear." She froze for a second before pointing to a bed, grabbing her bag from her cubby, handing him the whole bottle of potion to restore his blood volume, muttering every healing spell under the sun at his arm, trying to take as much pain away as she could, but there was only so much the spells would do before she had to physically sew him up again.

"Does this mean I'm on bed rest again?" He asked tentatively, trying not to distract her while she was stabbing him with a needle. 

She smiled lightly, flicking her hair out of her face. This issues with having hair too short to tie up properly. "No, this doesn't warrant bed rest. But I want to keep an eye on t today, so if you could come back at lunch and then before the end of my shift?" 

Charlie nodded, and she noticed his clenched hand. 

"Are you in pain, is this hurting?" She stopped, looking up, concerned. With the amount of pain medication she'd given him, he shouldn't still be in pain. 

He shook his head, "no, I'm just cold and trying not to shiver while you've got a needle in me." 

She waved her wand silently, and not a second later, he was wrapped in a couple of blankets. "This is Romania in early December, Charlie."

"I know! It's my birthday in five days!" He grinned, "my brother Bill is coming to visit!" 

Stopping mid-thread, she stared at him. "Four days is not a lot of time for me to get you something, Charl." 

He stopped, mid breath, to jerk away from her, earning a scolding and a threat with her jinxing him to stay put. "You don't need to."

"Jinx you? We'll see." She laughed quietly.

"You don't need to get me anything." He mumbled quietly. 

Finishing up, Ashley turned away to put everything back in her little bag. "You put up with me ranting about my dad when he was injured. I owe you." 

He didn't say anything, refusing to meet her gaze, instead keeping his eyes trained on his arm. "Will it scar?"

"Possibly. Depends on which breed did it, whether or not I managed to sew it properly after you moved so suddenly." She glared, but couldn't really contain her smile. "You should be fine. Plus, you get to tell people a dragon attacked you and you survived."

Charlie grinned, shrugging, "that's pretty much the reason for every scar I have." 

Ashley rolled her eyes, "tell me why I'm not surprised. Go on, get out of here," She shooed him away, "go get back to your job so I can do mine." 

Grinning, he waved goodbye before running off back to his dragons. 

Turning, she saw Pete leaning against the doorway to the office, arms crossed and an amused look on his face. "What?" 

"Nothing," he smiled, raising his hands up in surrender. "But just so you know, Charlie's a wimp when it comes to pain. He was definitely in pain." 

She frowned, turning back to the entrance, trying to figure out what Pete was saying. Technically, Charlie shouldn't have been in too much pain, and wouldn't he tell her if he was still in pain when she asked?


	7. Q-word

11 December

Ashley-Rae could count on one hand the good things that had come out of her constantly being on the move with her father, and him not dying accounted for at least two and a half of those reasons, but another was the fact that nearly everywhere they went, Ashley seemed to pick up some important contacts with all sorts of dealers and tradesmen and travellers who were willing to sell anything for a price.   
Of course, she always returned the favour, which was usually just selling them healing potions and below market-price, so usually at the end of their deals everyone was happy. 

So as soon as she'd learned it was Charlie's birthday coming up, she wrote to every contact she had, enquiring about a few ideas for him. She was right, at least she thought so, in that she owed him for listening to her, especially as he'd kept it all to himself. She'd hate for her father to hear what she'd said; he'd feel so guilty, and it wasn't true, what she said, not really. She loved him, that's why she did what she did, and of course, he'd sacrificed just as much for her, so they were even in her books. 

Hearing back from each trader and traveller the next day, she placed her order and waited for the arrival of the package anxiously, hoping that it would arrive in time. 

She let her dad know before she left for work what she'd ordered, so that if it arrived when she wasn't there, he was aware and knew what to do, but it wasn't any use: somehow Nick's owl found her in the hospital, clearly annoyed at having to find her rather than being able to drop it at her hut. She grinned, taking the package from the bird, directing it to rest in her house before putting it carefully in the back of the cubby where she made sure it was warm enough to survive. Nick always came through with his promises. 

"What's that?" Pete asked, peering over curiously from where he was treating Dan. Having been there for a few weeks she was starting to figure out who was who - well, of those that frequented the hospital. No surprise then, that Charlie had been the first name she'd learned other than Kali's and the other healers. 

"Just an order from a contact in New Zealand, that's all." She smiled, getting back to work. She was a little too surprised at the amount of injuries they saw at the sanctuary considering there were only twenty-five people including herself and Pete. Then again, dragons were very volatile, and often angered by the smallest thing, so it probably wasn't unusual for people working with some of the most dangerous creatures in the wizarding world. 

Pete didn't look convinced but didn't push it, which she was grateful for. She finished treating Alyssa before discharging her with instructions to not turn her back to another dragon, and sat back waiting for the next wave of injuries to come through. 

"Hey!" Charlie stuck his head in the door, "is it cool if I bring Bill and his girlfriend in to introduce you?" 

Ash turned to Pete who nodded, pulling the curtain around his patient, and Ashley nodded to him, smiling. "Sure, it's not very exciting."

Charlie opened the door fully to allow a taller, thinner red-head into the hospital, as well as a woman with blonde hair and a pleasant look about her. "So this is the hospital. At the moment it's fairly quiet-"

"Charlie!" Ashley snapped, and Pete pulled the curtain back just enough to yell, "Say that again and I'll leave you to die next time you're injured." 

The two guests seemed taken aback, a little unsure about how to react. 

Charlie just grinned, "I'm just trying to liven things up for you! Anyway, this is Bill and his girlfriend Fleur." 

Ashley smiled, holding out her hand to Bill, "Ashley-Rae. Any version of that will do." 

Bill shook her hand, nodding. "You're a Healer? Little young, aren't you?" 

Fleur scoffed, "Ignore him," Ashley blinked at her accent, "men are clueless." 

"French? Beauxbatons?" Ashley smiled, and notice Fleur relax immediately. 

"Yes, I took a job at the bank to improve my English. It's where I met Bill." She hugged Ashley, kissing each cheek. 

Ashley nodded with a smile, "in that case I'll stick to English, rather than French."

Charlie looked as though he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by someone at the door shouting, "INCOMING!"

Glaring at him, she threatened, "say the Q-word in here again and I'll leave you in a ditch."


	8. Debt

12 December

Of course, Ashley being Ashley, she was too anxious to sleep that night. Not that she had much choice; she was never incredible at heating spells, so she was constantly having to cast them to ensure the egg would survive.   
Her dad was better, but it did wear off after a few hours, and she didn't want to bother him.

She decided to take a walk, just to try and calm herself down, though this time she'd be more careful climbing any mountains. Well, now that her dad had taken over the living room, her only way out without disturbing him was through the window. Fortunately, all the houses at the sanctuary were bungalows, so it really wasn't much of a reach. 

Making sure the egg was with her and firmly secured, Ash jumped out, breathing in the brisk night air. Casting multiple heating spells on the egg. she made her way through the frost to the ridge that acted as a barrier between most of the bungalows and the dragons. Most of the time everyone would climb over the top to get to the other side, Ashley included seeing as the hospital was also on that side of the ridge, but there was a way through for those who weren't a fan of heights. 

She sat, cradling her bag with the dragon egg inside, staring over the sanctuary. It really was impressive. The rocky mountains loomed over her, even from her vantage point, and she wondered if how she was feeling right now was how an ant felt in a garden. 

"You're out late." A familiar voice sliced through her thoughts. 

"Couldn't sleep," She responded almost too quietly. 

"Can I join you?" 

Ashley nodded, watching Charlie sit down next to her out of the corner of her eye. "I was just admiring the view. Feeling completely insignificant in comparison to the universe, you know, casual stuff." Laughing quietly, she turned to him, "what's got you out so late?" 

He shrugged, still grinning from her comment. "One of the dragons is sick, I'm just worried. We've brought in a specialist but..." 

Ash nodded. He didn't have to finish his sentence, she knew what was going through her mind as her dad had voiced his concerns about the same matter earlier that evening. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Huh?"

"It's past midnight." 

Smiling, Charlie half turned away. "Thank you. I've got the day off for it to spend with Bill and Fleur."

"That's good." She nodded, leaning back a little.

"So at least I won't be bothering you in the hospital on my birthday." 

Ashley laughed, "you're hardly a bother, only when you say the q-word."

He laughed, nodding, "after what happened to you guys yesterday after I said it, I don't think I'll ever use that word again!" 

Ashley smiled, hugging her knees to her chest, remembering suddenly that she had his present sat right there on her lap. "Oh crap, I almost forgot!" 

Charlie jumped from the sudden exclamation from her, looking a little confused. She laughed quietly at his reaction before pulling out the carefully wrapped-in-an-insulated-fur-blanket egg. 

"Happy birthday, be carefully it's incredibly fragile." She handed it over, making sure he had the package before fully letting go. 

Gently, he pulled back the blanket, noticing the distinct shiny grey egg, his face lighting up immediately. "How did you get one of these! Merlin's beard Ashley-Rae, that must have cost a fortune!" He excitedly placed it down, being careful not to crack it before surprising Ashley with a hug. 

Except they were both still sat down, and she'd been taken entirely by surprise, so they fell backwards, with Charlie crushing Ashley.   
"Oof. Ow, Charlie, can't breathe!" She gasped, taking a deep breath as soon as he lifted himself off her, still grinning. 

"I still can't believe you managed to find one! An actual Antipodean Opaleye egg? You must be paying that off until you're eighty!"

Sitting back up, she shrugged, "I know a few people. I have a deal with the traveller who procured it for me, wasn't too much, already paid my debt to him."

"Thank you so much! I don't think I'll ever stop being able to stop saying thank you, really, you don't know how happy this makes me." He grinned, eyes still shining like a child on Christmas day.

"It's ok, honestly. Consider this a debt payment to you, for listening to my ranting that time."

Much to her surprise, however, Charlie shook his head, cradling the egg with wonder. "No, this definitely puts me in your debt."


	9. Rescue

15 December

Ashley would never admit to anyone that she was more relieved that things were back to normal when her dad was freed from bed rest than she was about him completely recovering.   
Well, at least until he turned up at lunchtime talking about how he was going off on the rescue mission leaving the next day.

"Wait, so you're actually going halfway across Romania for three weeks?" She stared at him, trying to sort out her thoughts and feelings, slowly restocking the shelves and medicine cupboards.

He nodded excitedly, "They're giving me a spot on the team for it while Sam is visiting home!" 

She nodded slowly, not really surprised. "Do you need anything specific or just the usual?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"Whatever you feel is best. Anyway, I have to go prepare for it." 

And just like that he was gone, leaving Ashley thinking that he was so much easier to deal with when he wasn't allowed to do anything except eat sleep and read. 

"Well, that was interesting." Pete raised an eyebrow at her, but she turned away. "Are you ok with it?"

Ashley nodded, but didn't face him. "Yeah, that sort of stuff makes him happy, at least he's not stuck at home on the sofa bed all the time now." 

"Ok, well if you need anything while he's gone, even just some company, you're welcome at mine." 

Thanking him, she resumed her task, trying not to think too much about it. She didn't really have a choice but to be ok with it, it wasn't as though he wouldn't go just because she asked him not to: she'd tried that before, it would have been more productive talking to a brick wall on the matter. She just had to get stuck into work and not think about any of it. 

Easier said than done. 

She finished up and sat back, reading some book or other, but she wasn't paying attention to it, not really. It was difficult to pay attention to it when she knew her dad would be halfway across the country with no Healer, walking right into possibly one of the most dangerous situations he's ever been in, and there was nothing she could do about it. 

"I think I might need medical assistance." 

Ashley looked up, glad to see some things hadn't changed. She directed Charlie to a bed, pulling on some latex gloves and walking over to examine him. "What did you do?" 

He smiled sheepishly at her exasperated tone, "I got distracted feeding some of the babies and one of them took a chunk out of me." 

True enough, there was a sizeable bite taken out of his forearm. Ashley raised her eyebrows, impressed. "What kind of baby was it that did that? Surely not a baby anymore." 

Charlie pouted, "they're all babies until they're fully grown." 

Shaking her head, Ashley did her best to clean him up, though she warned that it would take a few days until he had full use of that arm again - which, considering the damage, wasn't a horrible return. 

"Hey, I heard about your dad going on the mission to the hunting grounds, are you sure he's completely up for that so soon after being cleared?"

Ashley sighed, turning away, "he's been cleared. Besides, he really won't listen to anyone telling him he can't go, he'll find a way." 

Staying silent for a minute, he tried to gauge how she was feeling about the whole thing. "Well, they'll be leaving at midnight tonight, if you want to see him off. I usually go to wish them good luck, you'd be welcome to do the same."

"Thanks. I suppose I should, seeing as he is my dad." 

Charlie grimaced, glancing over to Pete who was still stuck with paperwork. Ashley figure that now she was there, he was using the time to get it all under control, fixing a few things that had needed an upgrade since before she was even born. 

"It is what it is, you know? He is who he is, there's no changing that. This is what makes him happy, who am I to deny him that?"

"His child. Only child. Who has sacrificed her entire life for him?" Charlie poked her side, "look, I get the whole 'you don't want to be selfish' thing but there are some times where you have to put your foot down. This may be one of them."

Laughing, she turned back to him, rubbing healing cream into her burned hands, "I tried that. So many times. It would be more productive trying to teach a fish to climb a tree." 

Charlie didn't look entirely surprised, his attention being drawn to her hands. "What on earth have you done?" He spoke too loudly, drawing Pete's attention. He quickly waved him away as he looked over. 

She grimaced. "I destroyed my dragon-hide gloves in Italy, didn't have time to get any new ones while here. The burn creams I use on you guys are too strong, they eat through the latex gloves here."

"Why didn't you say to anyone here! Right, I'm off to the town, I'll be back soon." He looked determined, and though Ashley tried to convince him she was fine and she had treatment for herself, there really was no stopping him. Charlie could be as stubborn as her dad when it fancied him, it seemed.

**

Ten to midnight and Ashley-Rae and her dad were stood at the gates to the sanctuary, where everyone was checking they had enough supplies for the trip, saying goodbye to friends who then disappeared back to their homes to get a few hours sleep before having to wake up for their shifts. 

She stood, trying not to show how nervous she was, and hopefully succeeding, seeing as no one was saying anything. "Ok, are you sure you've got everything?"

He nodded, going through the checklist again. "I'm sure, We've been through the checklist about a hundred times."

"Ok." She nodded. "If you don't come back here alive and in one piece, I will murder you myself."

He laughed but hugged her tightly anyway. "I'll come home, Ash. I always do."

She nodded, and she and the others that had come to wave them off stood back, letting them get on their way. Charlie stood next to her, watching as they walked off into the distance and out of sight. Considering they were going to a literal hunting ground, there was no way they could just apparate there and back; that was a sure way to get killed and/or bring hunters back to the sanctuary where all-out war would ensue. 

"He'll be fine, Ash. They're some of the most talented people I know, He'll come home ok." 

She nodded, sighing and turning back to make her way back home. 

"Here." He handed her something and she rolled her eyes, refusing to take it.

"I can't accept that."

He grinned, "you don't have a choice! Otherwise, I just wasted my money." 

"NO!" She held her hands back so he couldn't try and force her to take it. "You can't force me to accept it!"

Charlie pouted, "but I spent money on it! Plus, look at your hands! Whatever treatment you're using doesn't work well enough to stop your hands from literally being torn apart."

She looked down at her palms, noticing what he was talking about. "I'll pay you back for them." She sighed, resigning herself to it.

"No, you won't!" He laughed cheekily, running as she tried chasing him to convince him to take the money she was offering.

"Charlie Weasley get your ass back here! Take the damn money!" She called after him, becoming tired way too quickly and having to stop and catch her breath. 

He looked back, walking back quickly, concern written all over his face. "Are you feeling ok?" 

Nodding, she finally caught her breath, "yeah, just not used to running anymore, clearly." She tried to smile. "Usually dad and I are a lot more active, we only really stay in the same place if we're near a town or a city, so I guess staying here for a while has really lowered my stamina." 

Charlie didn't look convinced, and Ashley herself didn't really believe what she was saying, but neither said anything about it, just leaving it for now. She hoped she wasn't getting sick, that wouldn't do anyone any good. "Come on, I'll walk you back to yours, can't leave you out here by yourself."


	10. Fever

16 December

Ashley made it to about halfway through her shift the next day before Charlie showed up with an injury. There were times she thought he did it on purpose, just to annoy her. She sighed when she saw him limping. 

"It's just a sprain, I swear, I just need something to be able to walk on it without being in pain." He looked annoyed at himself even, making her wonder how he'd managed it.

"What were you doing this time?" She sat down by the side of his bed. She was struggling to keep her breath, though she was doing her best to hide it. She really couldn't afford to get sick. 

He looked at her, concerned, reaching with his hand to check her temperature, but she leaned away.

"I'm fine, Charlie, just tired is all."

"You have a fever, if you make the entire sanctuary sick what are you going to do then? Because you won't be able to look after them if you're one of the sick people yourself." 

She rolled her eyes, muttering healing spells under her breath until his ankle went back to normal size and he was able to stand and move around without any pain. "I'll be ok, I'll have some soup tonight or something." 

"Not good enough, Pete!" He called him over, not looking impressed at Ashley. 

"What's going on?"

"Ash has a fever."

"I do not have a fever, I'm just tired." 

Pete looked at her, feeling her forehead with the back of his hand, grimacing before pulling away. "No doubt about it, Ashley-Rae, you're sick. Pneumonia, by the looks of it. Fungal I think, considering no one here has had pneumonia recently. Go home and get some rest, you'll feel better in a week or so." Pete ordered, not listening to her objections. "Go. Charlie, take her." 

She glared at Charlie before grabbing her medical bag in case she needed it at home and walking out towards the ridge.

"Hey, come on, don't be mad at me. You're running a fever and you're out of breath just walking across the room!"

"I'm not mad," she sighed, feeling as though her chest was on fire, "I'm mad at myself for letting myself get sick. And then not realising it."

He slowed his pace so she wouldn't get out of breath trying to keep up with him as he escorted her back to her place. "You did realise it, but you're worried if you're sick in bed all the time you won't be able to stop thinking about your dad. I used to be like that."

"Girlfriend on the rescue team?" She asked without thinking.

Charlie laughed, helping her through the path through the ridge, not letting her climb it, "you've been here for nearly a month, you seen me with a girl?" 

She shrugged, having to stop for a few seconds to start breathing again. "Boyfriend then, I don't know."

He shook his head, "no, neither. Only ever had one girlfriend, but it's difficult to find someone willing to put up with me when I'm constantly injured and the like. No, I just worry for everyone here, really, especially those that go on missions. A year ago we lost a few people because they walked into an ambush, it wasn't a good few months after that." 

Ashley nodded, standing to go on but feeling a little dizzy, trying to keep her balance. 

"Here, lean on me, I've got you, come on." He put an arm around her, "where's your key? Pocket or bag?" 

Ashley couldn't remember, so he took her bag and checked the pockets until he found one on a piece of ribbon, "I'm going to assume this is it. Come on Ash." 

She nodded, trying to find her footing. "Sorry, usually I'm better than this, even when I'm sick."

Charlie smiled, unlocking her front door, "you have a raging fever and pneumonia."

"I have the fever because of the pneumonia."

"What?" Charlie wasn't really listening, picking her up and putting her to lay down on the sofa. 

"You said... never mind." She shook her head. "Can I have a blanket?" 

He looked at her, a little cautious. "Water first." 

She nodded, and he helped her to sit up before handing her the glass with a straw, making sure she had a decent amount before putting it on the side table. He knelt in front of her, trying to get her to focus, but the fever was starting to set in now, and she looked too warm. "Ok Ash, you're the Healer here, I have no clue what to do so please help me."

Ashley took a breath, trying to work up the strength to talk. "There's medications for this kind of thing in my room. On the shelf there's a box, there should be an anti-fungal bottle of pills, get that." 

He nodded, locating her room as quickly as he could, pulling down the box and rifling through, finding two types of the medications she was talking about, and though he tried to decipher what they were each for, he knew nothing about medicine, so decided to bring them both to her and she could help. 

She seemed better after the water, though she was shivering which he assumed was a bad sign. "Um..." She read each bottle, choosing one and taking the medication. "The dose is on there. I'll be ok, just help me to bed, I'll be fine when I wake up."

He looked doubtful, but helped her to bed anyway, noticing a stack of books by the side, each of them detailing different illnesses or injuries, so he went through them until he found one that included pneumonia. She was asleep in a few seconds, though she looked too warm to him still, and he wondered if he should have just left her in the hospital; he might do more harm to her trying to care for her here. 

Shaking away those thoughts, he retreated to the living room and read through the book, familiarizing himself with the treatments, the do's and don't's, and everything in between. He bookmarked the pages so he could get back to them quickly if he needed, And sat back, deciding he'd stay just in case she got worse. He sighed, opening their airing cupboard and finding a few blankets. He grabbed a cushion from the sofa and made up a bed outside her door, making sure she could still get in and out, and left it there for the night. He ran back to his own bungalow, grabbed his dragon egg and the incubator, spare clothes and decided last minute to bring extra blankets and a pillow for himself, so he'd be a little more comfortable in the hall, and set back to take care of Ashley.


	11. sleep

20 December

Ashley's fever broke three days later, much to Charlie's relief, and as soon as she felt ok enough to stay awake for more than a few hours, she noticed how run down he looked. "Charlie, seriously, please don't tell me you stayed awake for three days to take care of me!" 

He stifled a yawn, trying to cover it and shake his head.

"You're a horrible liar. here, I can stand!" She stood, a little shaky still, but it no longer made her dizzy. "I'll make you a cup of tea, you need to go to bed! Where-" She walked into his pile of blankets and turned to look at him in complete horror. "You slept in the hallway?" 

Charlie looked away, but Ashley could see the guilty look on his face. 

"Oh, Charl." She softened her voice, walking back over, feeling a little out of breath already. "Here, come on." She gently took him by the arm, leading him to her dad's room, using his wand to change the bed. It was interesting, using someone else's wand, it responded differently but still got the job done. "Sleep here, he won't mind. I'll bring you tea, is there anything else?" 

He shook his head, still little hesitant about taking the bed, "Are you sure?"

Ashley nodded. 

"Oh. The incubator is in the kitchen on your cooker." 

She nodded, leaving the door ajar as she left to make tea for him. She felt too guilty, as he'd obviously been taking care of her for three days straight, even sleeping in the hallway when he could. Now it was her turn, even if she was still sick. She was well enough to function, just not quite well enough to venture outside too far. Of all times for her to be sick, it had to be when her dad was away. Reconsidering, it was probably the better time for her to be ill, though she was still sorry that Charlie had to care for her. 

She had to sit down while making the tea, but her even being out of bed was a good sign. She'd have to try a few healing spells, though pneumonia was notorious for never responding to them well. She took a few deep breaths (or as deep as she could) before standing with the tea, knocking on the door before entering to find Charlie sat still fully clothed on the bed. "Here, drink this."

He looked sceptical, so she reassured him it was just tea, and he took a sip. Seeming satisfied, he relaxed a bit more. "You're sure he won't mind?" 

Shaking her head, Ashley tried to reassure him that her dad really wouldn't, that she'd wake him if she needed anything, and left him to catch up on some much-needed rest.   
She decided to settle herself on the sofa and read a few books, noticing one no the side with a few of the pages marked with what Ashley could only assume were bookmarks (she was no stranger to using whatever was on hand to mark her page in a book) and opened it, curious as to what Charlie was reading in a medical book. She scanned the page, smiling softly as she realised he'd been reading up on treatments for pneumonia, and everything around it. Ashley had to admit, that was cute. She definitely needed to thank him for going above and beyond for her. 

Ashley thought last-minute to send a message to Pete, letting him know she was alive and recovering well, though it would probably be another week before she could think of returning to the hospital. Only a half-hour later he'd sent a reply, stating that he was managing well and for her to take her time and not try come back too early. She was surprised at how lenient and nice everyone was being towards her while she was sick; the few other places she'd been working with other people, if someone got sick and couldn't work, they were often left to fend for themselves. 

Of course, she was completely exhausted from doing even basic tasks still, but knew she really had to shower, so dragged herself to her room for some clothes and towels, before making sure Charlie was ok and sleeping, before jumping in the shower. Of course, she decided it was probably better to sit down in the shower; it was a little odd at first, but at least she wouldn't get dizzy and fall over in the shower. That would be awkward, having to call Charlie in...   
She wiped that thought out of her mind, washing as quickly as she could, wanting her bed more than anything right then, drying her hair with a spell and dressing in the joggers and top she'd brought in with her. Admittedly, she felt a lot better after that, and climbed back into bed with a book, enjoying the peace that so rarely occurred when it came to her life.


	12. Cheerios

25 December

Ashley was used to spending Christmas on the road, in the middle of nowhere, even used to being attacked by some hostile creature they happened upon. She’d never spent it away from her dad since she was eleven, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it, especially considering she was still sick.

Charlie had, however, cancelled his plans to go home, despite her protests and objections that she could take care of herself for the few days he’d be gone, or even head over to the hospital for the duration. He wasn’t having any of it, saying his parents understood, and it was actually safer for him to stay in Romania with everything happening. Ash couldn’t tell if he was just using that as an excuse to make her feel better or not. She made sure he knew that if it was, it didn’t, but she appreciated it anyway. 

And, she couldn’t tell him how anxious she had been trying to find him a Christmas present, especially when she still found herself out of breath and exhausted simply from walking the twenty metres or so from her bed to the sofa.

Waking up on Christmas Day, however, Ashley-Rae was in a good mood, pulling on a Christmas jumper over a plain top, black jeans, and Christmas themed socks. She sighed at her hair, running a brush through it. It was being stubborn recently; she’d forgotten how much she relied on magic to keep it in check until casting so many spells a day left her drained and she’d had to cut down. She tied it back in two bunches, rolling her eyes at her reflection. It would have to do. 

She walked to the kitchen to one Christmas had completely exploded across the two rooms, with tinsel everywhere possible, a fully decked out tree that was much too big for the house, and scenes of Santa in fake snow on the windows. “Holy mother of God, what happened.”

Charlie looked up from where he was already prepping Christmas dinner for the two of them. “I decorated.”

”So I see.” Ashley blinked, grinning slowly, “it feels weird, to stay in one place long enough for decorations. It feels good.” She turned to see him staring at her. “What?”

”You have your hair in pigtails.”

Blushing, she nodded, taking a seat on the sofa, making sure she could still face him, “it was being stubborn, and I didn’t feel like wasting my energy on wrestling with it today. I’m well aware that it makes me look like a child.”

”I could braid it for you if you’d like?” 

Now it was Ashley’s turn to stare.

”My sister Ginny used to ask me to braid her hair all the time so she could play rough with my younger brothers, so I learned how. I had fairly long hair, even back then.” He explained, casting a few spells so the cooking preparations would work themselves, and she wondered briefly why he hadn’t done that before. He washed his hands and she turned her back to him so he could do her hair.

It felt strange to have someone do her hair for her. It seemed it was the day for that kind of feeling, with the Christmas decorations and now this, but it felt nice to have him do her hair for her without magic or having to pull half of it out with a hairbrush before it would stay put. 

In fact, Charlie didn’t seem to have any trouble with it at all, and she had to think again about him not using magic. She hadn’t heard him using any spells, nor had she felt them, so maybe he really was just good with hair. Still, it surprised her when he was finished so quickly.

“All done.” He said softly, with a small smile. Ashley turned to thank him before he went back to cooking.

”Why don’t you just leave the magic to do that? Surely it would be easier for you.” 

He didn’t respond for a few seconds, simply pausing. “I feel pretty useless just sat around all the time, so I tend to do a lot of my chores myself rather than by magic. Otherwise, I’m not sure what I’d do with myself.”

Nodding, she looked down at her hands folded in her lap, “that makes sense.” She froze as her stomach growled loudly, making Charlie laugh a little under his breath, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“Hungry?” He didn’t wait for a response before making her a bowl of Cheerios and handing it to her along with a spoon. “Here.”

”You do too much for me.”

He laughed again, before realising she was completely serious. “Oh, no, Ash, you’re sick. Even if you feel a lot better you still get exhausted pretty quickly, this is the very least I can do to help you get better. Besides, no use me actually going to work if you’re not in the hospital to fix me up and lecture me about doing dangerous shit again.” 

She tried to hide a smile, silently agreeing with him. She wasn’t sure how Pete had put up with his shenanigans before she was available for him to palm Charlie off to. “Are we doing presents? You have a lot from your family, I’m curious about what they got you.” 

Charlie raised an eyebrow, amused. “Sure that’s the only reason you’re asking?”

Ashley fell silent, giving him his answer. 

“Finish your Cheerios.”


	13. Just a braid

4 January 1996

The fourth of January was a date that Ashley had been counting down to, anxiously waiting for her father to come home. So when that day came she was up and ready before the sun was even up, making sure the house was ready for him to come home and relax from the trip, though she knew, in reality, he would be too excited to do anything but talk all about it and probably too reckless to do anything but go right back out there. 

Charlie had moved back to his own place a few days ago, giving her strict instructions to send for him if she felt at all worse or even just too tired to do things around the house, though she had a feeling he knew she wouldn't unless it was completely necessary. She'd also gone back to work, though Pete only let her do a few hours at a time before sending her to the back to do stock count and whatever else he felt like not doing, which usually included a lot of paperwork. Not that she minded, it certainly was different than she was used to but it was good to see how things worked in an actual hospital rather than just by herself dealing with whoever she could at the time. After all, once her father was settled, or Merlin forbid, gone, she'd have to find work in a hospital, knowing how it all worked would probably be beneficial. 

Seeing as it was a slow day, she and Pete sat together near the back talking while going through all the paperwork for renewing several contracts with suppliers. It was difficult because of the whole Voldemort thing, but they were able to get through it. 

"You're dad's coming home today, you ready for that?" Pete asked, glancing to the front of the hospital. It had become a habit for them to constantly check that no one was passed out near the front after they'd missed Daniel passed out there a few weeks ago. 

"I think so. It was a lot quieter with Charlie there with me, definitely more of a domestic thing, which felt strange, even when I forced him back to work." She smiled a little, "but I've missed him, even though I hate his recklessness."

"So," He raised an eyebrow, "Charlie."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "I make a point of not making any kind of connections with people I meet on travels. It only ends in heartbreak and misery."

Pete laughed, "I'd say we have a fair emotional connection after working together near fulltime over the past month and a half. 

"That's different, you're a healer. There's something in it for me, say if I wanted to come back here or I needed medical supplies and couldn't get them where I would be stationed. That sort of thing."

"Ah, so it's a business investment."

"Some of my closest friends are business investments!" Ashley joked, making him laugh. "But seriously, I can't keep up with the letters or the plans, so I make sure to distance myself from people." 

Pete didn't look convinced. "Does he know that?"

Ash sighed, leaning back in the chair, "I don't know. There's nothing wrong with us being friends for the year, but I don't want the whole emotional goodbye at the end of it where one of us inevitably gets hurt."

He nodded, "it's funny how completely blind you are sometimes."

Laughing, she stood to stretch, filing the papers in the cabinet in the office. She didn't know what he meant exactly, but then again Pete said so much stuff that didn't make sense that it wasn't particularly out of character for him. 

"Ashley?" She turned to the front where Charlie was waiting with a grin, "he's back."

She stopped, the last file still in her hand. "Like, home?" 

He nodded, and she dropped the file in the cabinet, waving goodbye to Pete as she ran out towards the ridge, ignoring the burning in her chest. It was definitely a bad idea to run, and soon enough she had to stop for fear of passing out from lack of oxygen. 

"Well, that wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done," Charlie commented, catching up to her pretty quickly. "Come on, through the ridge; there's no way you're climbing it in that state."

She nodded, not arguing with him. She didn't want to go right back to being stuck at home when she'd just got back to work. She made it to the clearing where they introduced new dragons to the sanctuary, and grinned as she saw her dad there trying to calm them from the long journey. She walked over with Charlie, waving once her dad caught sight of her. "Hi!" She hugged him tightly once she reached him. "How was your trip?"

His eyes were shining with excitement and life, "incredible. You seem a little run down, are you ok?"

"yeah, just recovering from a cold, I'm fine." She shot a look at Charlie when he opened his mouth to protest, and he shut up instantly, giving her a strange look. "I'm glad it went well for you! Any injuries or the like?" 

Her dad nodded, pulling his sleeve up to reveal some sloppily stitched claw marks on his upper arm, and Ashley nodded, telling him to sit down and she'd re-stitch and dress it for him so there would hopefully be minimal scarring. She couldn't guarantee there being no scarring because of the quick-fix he'd already done, but was grateful that he hadn't just let it bleed out like he usually did until he got back to her.

Charlie smiled at her as she got ready to work on her dad, and she rolled her eyes playfully. 

"Did you braid your hair?" He asked, frowning. "You never braid your hair."

Ashley stopped for a second, shaking her head. "Charlie did it for me. Some days I can't be bothered to deal with it, he's kind enough to braid it before he goes off to work." 

Her dad raised an eyebrow but turned away, not saying anything else. 

"It's just a braid."


	14. Friends

20 January

Ashley really didn't know what it was with her dad, but ever since he'd got home from the rescue, he'd been working more than ever, taking nightshift on, working upwards of twelve hours before taking a break to sleep. She really tried not to mind, but it left her alone more often than not, especially at night which wasn't something she was fond of, and it left her feeling more isolated than ever from everyone.   
Of course, she had Pete and Charlie and Kali, but it was different. Her dad understood her, she thought, the way she wasn't really able to keep contact with people, how he was basically her whole life. 

But recently it felt as though he was shutting her down more than he was with her. 

Pete had noticed her change in mood - really who hadn't, apart from her dad - and tried to provide her with some level of comfort as much as he could, but it had a limited effect. 

Lately, she'd been getting less and less sleep, and though she could survive on short naps, for the most part, it felt worse to be in the house alone at night, so she took to wandering the sanctuary. Sometimes she'd just sit at the top of the ridge watching everyone working down in the pits, snowflakes falling in her hair before melting away. It certainly didn't help that she was only just recovered from pneumonia, but what no one knew couldn't hurt.   
Well, that's what she thought until one night Charlie came running to her excitedly, talking way too quickly about baby dragons.

She looked up at him, confused. "Stop, breathe, slow down, start again." Ashley-Rae raised an eyebrow, "then maybe I'll understand what you're trying to say."

He grinned, pulling her to her feet, "the egg is hatching!" 

Ashley blinked, a smile forming on her face, "really?"

He nodded, dragging her over to his house, and she followed, laughing at his excitement; it was infectious, she wondered if this was how everyone felt when he got like this. They rushed to one of his back rooms where there were so many incubators it made her wonder if he was the only one who cared for orphaned eggs in the sanctuary before her eyes landed on the egg she'd given him a month and a half ago for his birthday. There were already several cracks in it, with the dragon still doing its best to escape its egg.

They watched, sat on the floor of the small room, as the tiny* dragon shook the last of the eggshell off, stumbling about the incubator, calling out. Charlie was shaking with excitement, reaching in, picking up the dragoon in his hands and placing it down on his lap, watching with awe. 

"What're you going to name them? Is it a boy or a girl?" Ashley spoke softly with a smile on her face.

"Um..." Charlie thought for a bit, "by the size I'd say a girl. How about Mila?" 

She nodded, still smiling, "that's cute." 

"Feeding time! You're welcome to stay." Charlie looked up at her, letting Mila rest on his shoulders before pulling Ashley to her feet.   
Ashley considered, and he must have seen the hesitation in her eyes, because he followed up with, "or you can go back to the ridge until your shift starts again."

"How do you know about that?" She frowned, taking a seat in his living room.

Charlie shrugged, "when I can't sleep I do the same. But clearly, I sleep a lot more often than you do."

Ashley stayed quiet. 

"Anything on your mind?" He sat opposite her, putting a ceramic dish down on the table along with Mila. "That's usually why I can't sleep."

Shaking her head, she leaned back in the chair. "No, my dad just works a lot. I've never really slept somewhere by myself before unless he was seriously injured or something of the like. It feels... wrong, being in the house by myself, so I guess I just take to walking if I'm up to it." 

Charlie nodded slowly, "it took me a while to get used to being here by myself. Grew up with six other siblings, so things were never quiet at home."

Ashley nodded. "I don't know. It feels sort of empty, lonely, without him." 

"It can do. I- well, if you ever need to sleep and can't without company, you're always welcome here. I've got a spare room that's always made up, you're welcome to use it if you want."

She paused, her brain trying to process the information. "I-" Taking a deep breath, she tried again, "I don't want to intrude. Besides, you don't have to help me every time I stumble a little."

Charlie laughed a little, "I know I don't have to, but I want to."

"Why?" 

His heart broke a little, as she looked genuinely confused. "Because we're friends, Ash. That's what friends do."


	15. Sleeping in

14 February

Ashley-Rae had never understood Valentine's day. She'd loathed it at school, mainly because it usually only provided people with an excuse to talk all the time about crushes and boyfriends or girlfriends - and she couldn't stand it, especially when she was just trying to study.

No, she didn't hate it, more didn't understand it. But if other people wanted to celebrate it, good for them.

Except when Laura took it as an opportunity nearly a week prior to gush about her boyfriend taking her to a nice restaurant in the town for dinner after Pete had confirmed her time off with James. In all honestly, Ashley tuned most of it out, nodding along and giving what she felt like would be appropriate answers whenever prompted. But she really didn't care about how difficult it was for Laura with her boyfriend working the day shift with the dragons and her on the night shift. 

And then four days later the inevitable happened: James got the flu and the measles at the same time (either he was just incredibly unlucky or pissed off some Deity) and Laura had to cancel her date, so Ashley had to listen to her crying about that too. She was really beginning to re-think stopping by the hospital at nights. 

Finally, Ash couldn't take it anymore, talking to Pete about an idea she'd had just to make Laura shut up. 

"And you're sure you can do an eighteen-hour shift? Of course, you'll have breaks, but are you sure you can manage that?" Pete asked sceptically.

Ashley nodded, "if it'll shut her up, then yes, I'll manage. If you can manage this shift without me, I'm good to go." 

Pete nodded, "go catch up on some sleep then, you'll need it." 

Ashley nodded, returning back home, where her father was just heading out to work. She smiled at him, trying to hide the crushing feeling inside her chest, unlocking the door before remembering what Charlie had said. She looked over to his place where there was still a light on in his lounge, so she decided to just suck it up and ask to crash in his spare room. She'd need the sleep for her upcoming shift, and there was no way she was making it through with the two hours she'd get in her own bed. She knocked, standing back from the door, plastering a smile on her face when Charlie opened the door looking half-asleep still himself, with two baby dragons crashing in the background. 

"Oh, Ashley!" His face lit up, "What can I do for you?"

It took her a second to find the words before blurting out, "can I sleep in your spare room?"

He looked confused, but opened the door for her. "Aren't you supposed to be at work in like five minutes?"

"No," Shaking her head, she told him she was working the night shift to cover Laura. "Anyway, how come you're here, not in the pits?"

"Babies." He sighed, watching the two dragons - Mila and one Ashley hadn't seen before - play rough on his living room table. "Little Mango there was abandoned, someone sent her to us so we can care for her. whenever we get baby dragons I care for them, always have done, so I stay here with them to help them until they grow big enough and old enough to care for themselves." 

Ashley nodded. "Do you have any tea? You look like you could use some." 

He nodded, sitting again, pulling the dragons apart before they incinerated the carpet, while she went through his cupboards for mugs and tea, finding them easy enough.

She made two cups, handing one to Charlie, before saying goodnight and heading to his spare room. she placed it on the side before realising she'd forgotten to bring any pjs to sleep in or even a change of clothes for her shift. Sighing, she pulled off her jeans, deciding she'd have to run home once she woke up for a spare top, before climbing into bed. She could still hear the crashes in the living room and Charlie trying desperately to calm the two of them down as she finished her tea, falling asleep laughing quietly at his outbursts of, "kettles and chips" and similar unconventional sentences.


	16. eighteen hours

14 February / 15 February

Luckily for Ashley, the night shift was fairly chilled out, with only one major injury and a few minor burns and scratches, nothing she couldn't handle. She was grateful, considering she still had to get through half the day shift as well, but after that, she could sleep for as long as she liked. If her dad was home.

She sat back, going through her bag, sorting what she did and didn't have, what she needed more of, and writing out orders for her suppliers. She knew the hospital provided most things, but often Ashley preferred using her own stuff, especially considering sometimes she'd mix creams and meds to make them more effective. 

Once she was done, it was nearly time for the day shift to start, so she made sure everything was ready for that before she started on changing the bedsheets. Pete arrived soon after with coffee in a flask for her, which she thanked him for repeatedly, having forgotten to bring a mug with her to make herself coffee in the back room. He nodded with a smile, asking how the night shift went.

"Easy, really. Only a few burns and scrapes. Oh, and Thomas I think his name was, broke his wrist but I fixed it and sent him home for a few hours so it could set properly. No idea if he listened to me, but he's not been back since so I'll assume so." Ashley chugged half the coffee, not really caring about it burning her throat. "Damn I needed that. Thank you."

Grinning, he nodded, drinking his own coffee. "You ready for another six hours of this?" 

Ashley sighed contentedly, "chaos is my happy place." 

Pete laughed, nodding to the front where people were already waiting to be treated from burns and the like. "Better get to it then."

**

Even with coffee, Ashley really couldn't wait until the end of her shift so she could change and get some sleep. It was exhausting, having to be on guard for eighteen hours straight just in case something major happened. 

"Pete, I have- Ashley? What are you still doing here, you were on the night shift!" Charlie announced his arrival, and the two fo him looked up at him stood in the doorway with two baby dragons in tow.

"Charlie, this is a dragon-free area! You know that!" Pete scolded.

"I'm finishing in like five minutes." Ashley shrugged, pointing him to a bed, getting ready to treat him.

Pete stopped her with a hand on her arm, "take the dragons back to his, you can go now. It's basically time for you to clock out anyway." 

She nodded, picking up Mila and Mango, stopping to grab a key from Charlie.

"Just leave it on top of the doorframe when you leave." 

Heading over to the ridge, the dragons settled pretty well with her, each perched on a shoulder, though occasionally Mango would try and climb on top of her head which she didn't particularly appreciate. She unlocked Charlie's door, placing them on the table that now was covered in scorch marks and scratches, and smiled as Mila paraded around it. 

"You guys ok here?" She asked, though she wasn't sure why; it wasn't like they could answer or understand. 

The two dragons looked at each other before pouncing, each one breathing fire at the other, and Ashely sighed, pulling the two of them apart. "Stop. You guys should know better. I don't want you two fighting." She spoke in a stern voice, feeling as though she was telling off a couple of toddlers. Which she decided she pretty much was doing.   
She sat on the sofa in front of them, where they were still staring each other down. "Come on." She pulled them onto her, where they seemed to be more focused on her metal buttons and belt buckle, so she let them be there, leaning on her hand, exhaustion taking over pretty quickly. 

**

Charlie was confused when he got back to his place a half-hour later and the key wasn't on top of the doorframe and the lights were still on. He tried the door handle, opening it and walking into the lounge where it was surprisingly quiet.   
And then he noticed Ashley laid on the sofa asleep with the dragons curled up with her. He smiled a little, closing the door quietly, gently lifting her, calming her back to sleep when she started to wake up, and placed her gently in his spare bed, tucking her in and making sure she was comfortable enough. Mila and Mango kept clawing at the door, and when he opened it, they climbed over to her and curled up to go back to sleep again. 

Charlie smiled softly, leaving the door partially open for the dragons so when they woke they could come out and not have to wake her up in the process, before he went back to the kitchen to make himself some lunch.


	17. dinner

15 February

Ashley didn't remember falling asleep in a bed - well, she didn't remember falling asleep at all - but it was weirder that she was in bed in her clothes. 

And then she remembered the dragons and feeling exhausted, sitting on the sofa... Had he carried her to bed? This certainly wasn't her house, wasn't her room. So he must have done.   
She wasn't sure how to feel about that, but it made her smile nonetheless. 

She definitely needed a shower, And quietly cursed herself for not doing it in the day when she got home from work. Then she had to remind herself she never even made it home. She should probably go home and shower.  
Opening the door, she heard Charlie walking around in the kitchen, so she took a deep breath and closed the door behind her. The noise alerted him to her presence, and he looked up as she walked in.

"Hey, I saved some dinner for you if you want."

Ashley smiled, "I gotta shower. But I'll come back for that, I really don't want to cook at this time." 

Charlie nodded with a smile, so she left, walking over to her own house. She felt her chest ache as she noticed the lights all off, but got to the door anyway, searching through her pockets for her key before realising she'd left it in her bag back at the hospital. She leaned against the doorframe, sighing to herself, before realising she had to go back to Charlie's and ask for a shower there. Hopefully, he wouldn't mind too much...

She knocked on the door, not entirely certain if she was just allowed to let herself back in. 

He opened the door, confused as to why she was back to early. "You can always just walk in if the door's open, Ash. Didn't you shower?" 

"I forgot my key at the hospital. Would you mind if I showered here?" She asked, and he grinned, grabbing two towels for her from the cupboard. 

"Here, take your time." He smiled, handing them to her, and she thanked him, locking herself in the bathroom.

She turned the shower on, letting the warm water through her hair as she washed it, trying to relax. But even in the warm water, it was near impossible for her to completely relax. Finishing quickly, she jumped out, drying herself quickly.

She jumped as Charlie knocked on the door. "I've left some clothes on the bed for you, I'll be in the living room." He called through, and she acknowledged that she'd heard him, wrapping the towel tightly around herself before waiting a few seconds, grabbing her clothes from yesterday from eh bathroom floor before going through to the guest room. Charlie had laid out a pair of sweatpants, socks and a hoodie for her, even going as far as giving her a pair of boxers which made her laugh, but she put them on anyway, dressing and drying her hair quickly.

Ashley emerged, with the hoodie down to her mid-thigh, making sure she wouldn't trip over the sweatpants. "Thanks." She smiled, at Charlie who was stood by the cooker heating up dinner for her. 

He glanced over, smiling at how big his clothes were on here. "No worries. At least you'll be comfortable." 

Ashley looked down at herself with a laugh, "I agree with you there." She sat down, letting Mango curl up in her lap as she crossed her legs on the sofa. "Hey Mango, how you doing?" 

Charlie grinned, handing her a plate and cutlery, "clearly Mango has a favourite." 

Ashley shrugged, balancing the plate on her hand so she could eat while not disturbing the dragon, "clearly I'm just better." She gave him a smug look as he laughed. 

"I can believe that."


	18. talk

16 April

It had somehow become a regular thing for Ashley to stop by for dinner after her shift if her dad wasn't home, not that Charlie ever seemed to mind. Occasionally, Ashley would cook instead, when he looked too run down, or when she felt like it was probably her turn and he didn't try and argue too much, but she wasn't as good as he was. He had more Order of the Phoenix stuff to do these days, so she seemed to be cooking more, which was ok, but she could see the worry in his face some days and that unnerved her; Charlie hardly ever let his worry or anxiety show, so it concerned her when she could see it. Especially considering her often wouldn't talk about it to her, or anyone else as far as she knew. 

Until one day he threw a stack of letters on the table, glaring at them as though he could set them on fire with his mind. 

Mila, who was sat beside him, growled at the letters as though they'd caused harm to her or Charlie, and Charlie tried to settle her but was too pissed himself to have any real effect on her, so Ashley cast a few charms over the meal prep she was doing, and sat beside Mila, moving her to the other side of her with Mango to try and distract her from burning down the house. 

"Talk to me." She spoke softly, trying not to annoy or cause him any more upset.

He sighed, turning to her with a look of pure exhaustion that made her heart ache. "The Ministry has taken over Hogwarts and forced Dumbledore out. I knew it was getting worse over, there, I didn't think this would happen. They tried to take him to Azkaban so he's had to go into hiding."

Ashley was a little shocked at the news, but it didn't really surprise her that the Ministry was essentially trying to take over Hogwarts and wizarding Britain considering their refusal to admit Voldemort had returned. "Ok, well, Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards ever known, he'll be fine. The Ministry is just scared, the best thing we can do is to just keep going. As long as one person is fighting, there's still something to fight for." She wasn't entirely sure if what she was saying was helping, but she had no idea what to say in a situation like this. "We'll have dinner and you can tell me all about everything that's on your mind. You'll feel better after." 

Charlie nodded, sitting back and staring at the letters. 

"And let's get these out of the way." She carefully collected them all and placed them on the shelf above him, having to stand on the sofa to reach which made him laugh. "Shush, your house was clearly built for someone way above my height."

Charlie laughed still, letting Mila come back to sit with him, chewing on a chicken leg bone. "Thank you."

"For what?" She glanced over, but not wanting to burn their dinner she didn't want to get too distracted. 

"Letting me talk about it all to you." 

Shaking her head, Ashley smiled to him, "you're my friend, Charl, that's kind of what friends do." She turned back, trying to ignore the strange look that came across his face when she said that, getting on with dinner before plating and sitting on the sofa with him, handing him his plate and cutlery. "Here. So, tell me about it."


	19. Simple

21 April

Ashley-Rae was sure of many things in life, and before 21st April 1996, she would have been sure that Dumbledore wasn't in Romania, especially not at the sanctuary. But It was midday, and he was stood in the doorway of the hospital along with Charlie, and suddenly Ashley wasn't entirely sure about anything. 

"I, um, Professor." Ashley walked towards them, a little concerned and a lot confused.

"Ah, Ashley-Rae, how's things going for you and your father?"

She stumbled over her thoughts for a second before piecing together something coherent. "We're just fine. He's dragging me all over the world, as usual, only this time I get to stop him from fatally injuring himself." 

Dumbledore nodded seriously, "you did very well for yourself, graduating your Healer course early too, as well as Hogwarts. I hope we didn't put too much pressure on you."

She laughed, "any pressure was put on me by myself, professor, I'm perfectly capable of stressing myself out over those sorts of things."   
Charlie looked a little concerned, but she brushed it off. "Anyway, can I help you? Or are you just letting Charlie show you around?" 

"Ah," he nodded, "I seem to have twisted my ankle walking over some of the rocks, Charlie here said you could fix it right up for me." 

Ashley nodded, asking him to sit on a bed so she could work, casting a few healing spells around it, making sure all he'd done was sprain it, wrapped it so it would be secure, and stood back once she was finished. 

"That was quick." 

"How come you're never that fast when treating me?" Charlie whined, but Ash could see the smile in his eyes. 

She raised an eyebrow, "because your injuries are usually because you got in the way of a dragon on a rampage, or trying to separate Mango and Mila, winding up with you having several broken bones, severe burns, or all of the above."

He shrugged, "it's part of the job."

Ashley looked like she wanted to say something else, but Pete cut her off instead, "walk away, it's Charlie and they're dragons, you're not winning that fight."

She realised he was probably right, bidding them goodbye and going back to her original tasks of stocking and ordering. She stood to the side, watching Charlie out of the corner of her eye, trying not to draw attention to herself. He seemed a little more relaxed now that Dumbledore was here - most likely because he'd been completely filled in on everything and whatever was going down in England. She knew it was constantly on his mind about the disappearances, dreading the day someone from his family would go missing, that their name would end up in that list on the radio or in the paper. 

Shaking away the thoughts, she tried to focus back on the task, but her mind was constantly wandering back to Charlie, and it was even worse when he was stood right there. She decided it was because she was spending more time with him than anyone else apart from Pete, considering it seemed like her dad was only at their house when she was at work. Ashley knew it was against her rule to never get too attached to anyone on a job, but she just had to remind herself that it was temporary and she would be ok. 

Maybe.

Whatever. She really needed to focus on actually stocking the shelves instead of just staring at them.

"Deep in thought there?" Pete yanked her back to the present, making her blink a few times before comprehending what he'd just said.

"Yeah, sorry, I swear I'm doing this." She shook her head again.

"Anything to do with Charlie?"

She turned around so fast she was afraid it would give her whiplash. "What?"

He raised his eyebrows, "I'll take that as a yes." 

She just looked at him strangely, not giving a concrete answer. What could she say right there? Pete wasn't wrong, but it wasn't that simple. How could it be?


	20. The Argument

30 April

For the first time in nearly a month, the lights were on in Ashley's house when she arrived from work. It was irrational, but she was sort of relieved that her dad was home, she really had missed him. She opened the door with a smile, greeting her dad and walking to the fridge to grab a drink. 

"I was starting to think you didn't live here anymore." He laughed quietly.

Ashley stopped. She knew he was joking, but something about it made her irrationally pissed off at him. "I've been here in the past twenty-four hours. Have you?" She knew she'd regret this later, but it felt good to actually let out her feelings instead of letting them sit in the back of her mind. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" He looked fairly put out, anger quickly taking over. "At least I'm not avoiding you for some irrational reason?"

Laughing, she asked, "and what is this irrational reason that I'm avoiding you for? Go on, I'd love to hear it."

"You're too involved in your friendships and your work to ever come home!" He yelled, making her flinch and take a step back from him. 

"What friendships? No, please tell me, what friendships? Because I've never had that before. The reason I'm never here when you apparently are is probably because I'm at work, or because you weren't here in the few hours I have awake when I get home from work, and it's too lonely to sleep in a completely empty house as though you don't live here anymore, so I go to Charlie's where I know I'll at least get to talk to another human being outside of the hospital." 

He simply stared at her, breathing heavily with pure rage etched into his face. 

"I've hardly seen you since you got back from your rescue mission, you weren't even here enough to notice that I was out of breath walking from one room to another, too busy with your dragons to notice that I was so ill, had to take care of it all myself, just as I've always been expected to."

"You can't expect me to just stop working, Ashley-Rae, that's the whole reason we're here."

"No," she shook her head, "it's the reason you're here. I'm here because of you, because if I'm not here to take care of you, to treat you when you're sick and injured, I might end up spending my life in St Mungos, or worried out of my mind when I've not heard from you for a few weeks because you're too busy to 'check-in'. I'm here out of necessity. You're here for fun." 

"You think this is fun for me? You think that losing your mother was fun for me?"

Ashley didn't have an immediate response to that, walking towards the door without turning back to look at him. "No. But I do think it was your fault she left."  
She walked out, trying to shake off the anger, trying not to let it completely take over as it used to when she was younger, trying to regain some sort of self-control. She felt the tears welling up and Ash tried to stop herself from crying but that just made it worse, her throat burning, vision going blurry, and before she knew what was going on she was at Charlie's front door crying and trying to figure out if she should knock.   
Eventually, she did, trying to wipe away the tears before he opened the door to no avail.

"Ash- Ashley, what- come in." He gently pulled her inside, closing the door behind her, sitting her on the sofa before going to the kitchen to boil the kettle for tea, as he knew it was her comfort drink. "What happened?" 

She shook her head, not really being able to talk about it while she was still crying. Ashley had never really had an argument with her dad, the two of them had always managed t get along without any kind of conflict. 

She sat there with her knees pulled up to her chest, Mango trying to curl into her side without pricking her with her spines, sipping her tea. Charlie sat quietly by the side of her, drinking his own tea, though he kept looking over at her cautiously, as though he was afraid she would break on his sofa. 

Eventually, she felt calm enough to tell him about it, so she lowered her knees, crossed her legs and put her tea on the table in front of her, and told him everything.


	21. 21

12 May

Ashley-Rae and her dad had never really been massive on birthday celebrations once she finished school. Mostly out of necessity, not being able to do much except maybe a nice meal or something similar, considering they were travelling all over and often stuck in the middle of one of her dad's personal quests or something of the sort. Over time it had become less of a meaningful day and more of just another day to them both, though they still carried on with the nice sit-down meal whenever they could.  
Which included that night, where they'd be 'celebrating' Ashley-Rae's 21st birthday. She found it almost reassuring that her dad still wanted to carry on their tradition after their fight nearly two weeks ago. They'd made up the next day, of course, but things had been strained ever since. She was just glad that things were getting back to normal. 

Of course, she had to get through her shift at the hospital before that, but nothing could bring her down today. Not when her dad had taken the whole night off so they could have a nice night in without either of them feeling stressed.

She walked in, a smile on her face, even when she saw nearly every bed had been taken with burn victims and those who got in the way of a clearly pissed-off dragon. "Ok, let's get this all sorted then." She spoke to herself, nodding to Pete as they started their shift treating those Laura and James hadn't managed to treat, sending people who were ok to leave off to their own homes to recover with instructions of not to work for a few days. Ashley-Rae was just surprised that Charlie wasn't among them, considering Mango and Mila had been introduced to the pit now they were big enough and grown enough to live with the other dragons. She wondered how that was going, before snapping back to reality and focusing on her work, sending another back to work seeing as she could cure the burns there and then. She was getting too good at healing burns, the minor ones would now often heal within an hour without a trace, the bigger ones would sometimes take a day or two depending on the severity, but for the most part, it was going better than she'd ever really imagined. She supposed that's what happened when she spent most of her days performing healing spells on burns, focusing on potions to heal them faster and more efficiently. 

"Miss me?" Charlie sat himself on a bed near Ashley, not waiting for her to point him to one anymore, lifting his obviously broken wrist to show her the damage. "I think I broke my ankle too because that's causing me a lot of trouble and I heard a snap."

Ashley stared at him before quickly finishing on her current patient who was laughing at Charlie. "Sometimes, Charlie, I think you purposely get yourself put in here to see when exactly you do something too ridiculous or moronic that I give up." 

"Have I succeeded?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled, "not this time, Charlie, nothing can be too much for me today."

He frowned, confused, but his expression was quickly replaced with one of pain as she poked his ankle. "Did you have to do that?"

"Only if you want to know if it's broken or not." She grinned, knowing otherwise, but knowing he didn't. "Considering you heard a snap instead of a pop, I'd say broken." She shrugged, casting several healing spells over his ankle and wrist, both of which mended themselves quickly. She glanced up at him as he winced, and gave him something for the pain.

"Is that it, am I good? We need to get back out and try and get-"

"You're not going anywhere." Ashley laughed, nodding at Pete as she handed him the potion. "I know I'm good, but I'm not that good and you're not going to want to put any weight o that ankle for another hour or so otherwise you might snap it again, and then you're going to have to stay overnight. And I'll give strict instructions to Laura and James to make it hell for you." 

He looked between Pete and Ashley, worry clear on his face. 

"Don't look at me, Charlie! She pretty much runs the place now." Pete laughed, backing away.

"This is so not fair." He pouted. "How can you be in such a good mood?" 

Ashley laughed but didn't answer. 

"No, seriously, you don't smile and laugh this much it's strange and off-putting, what's going on? Did you get a date? A friend? A dragon?" 

Giving him a strange look, she just shook her head. "Nope. You really think I have time for dates?" She laughed, turning away to avoid looking at him. 

"What, then. Come on, tell me!" He bugged, trying to reach her and nearly falling off the bed. 

"Oh- Charlie!" She caught him, pushing him back on the bed. "Only if you promise me you'll sit there quietly and not disturb me when I'm working. And you can't fall out of the damn bed again."

"Deal."

"It's my birthday!" She said with a smile. "I'm twenty-one." 

He blinked for a few seconds. "You know you complained about me only giving you four days to get you something? You've not even given me four hours! This is completely illegal." 

"Hardly illegal, Charl," Ashely laughed, drawing Pete's attention. 

"What's illegal?"

"N-"

"It's her birthday and she's only just told me, so now I have no time to get her anything." 

Ashley looked like a deer caught in headlights. "We don't really celebrate birthdays, my dad and I. We just have dinner together." 

Pete shrugged his shoulders, "in all honesty, the most I do for my birthday is take half the day off to relax."

Charlie looked at them in horror, "you're both heathens, obviously."

"Stop being so dramatic. You only took the day off work because you had your brother visiting." Ashley laughed, getting back to work, still with a smile on her face.

The rest of her shift went off without a hitch, with Charlie leaving as soon as she cleared him, and Pete even let her finish fifteen minutes early so she could get home with enough time to shower and get ready for the dinner. Ashely knew it was just a dinner really, but it was her 21st, and she wanted to look nice, and maybe annoy her father into doing the same. 

Much to her amazement, however, he'd already dressed himself up in a shirt and blazer, though he was still wearing jeans, she didn't mind that. "You're... you're dressed up!" She managed to say when she walked through the door to seem him busy cooking in the kitchen. 

He smiled, "it's you're twenty-first! In my books, that's a fairly big birthday, we should celebrate it in style if we can." 

She grinned, nodding and walking through to wash her hair and get changed into something nice.  
She could hear her dad talking to someone as she slipped her heels on, and knew for a fact that she'd regret her decision to wear them later, but for now, she looked good and she held herself as though she knew it. 

Emerging from her room, she took a deep breath before walking out with a smile on her face, which froze as soon as she saw Charlie leaning on the counter in a shirt and slacks. "Um... Hi." She managed, trying to figure out why he was there.

"Hey, you look good. Happy birthday." He grinned.

Ashley could feel herself blushing under the makeup. "Thanks. You too." 

"I brought something for you! You didn't give me a whole lot of time, so you're proper present will be here in a few days, but I made you this." He stood properly, opening the fridge and pulling out a plate with a chocolate-frosted cake.

She stared at him for a second before smiling, walking quickly over to have a look at it. She smiled slightly as she saw he'd even put a glitter "Happy 21st Birthday Ashley-Rae" on top. "Thank you." She smiled at him, noticing how she was almost his height in the heels. "Really, thank you."


	22. What if

3 June

It was late when Ashely knocked on Charlie's door, smiling at him when he opened it. "I'm sorry, I know it's late, but um... I just wanted to thank you."  
He looked confused, so she elaborated. "I just got the present." She showed him the necklace.

Grinning, Charlie invited her in. "I wondered when you would. Anyway, how are you doing today?"

"Ok. Dad's out working again, this time on the other side of the sanctuary on rescue drills so I have a feeling he's gearing up to another mission if they let him." 

He nodded. 

"So you can't sleep?" She asked, and smiled softly as she shrugged. 

"I was going to go check on the dragons. Not sure what's keeping me up this time." 

Ashley nodded, "well, I know better than to keep you from your dragons." She smiled, but he frowned.

"Hey, you don't have to go." His eyes lit up, "why don't you come with me?"

Blinking, she tried to think, but ended up agreeing on autopilot anyway. 

"Great! Um..." He paused to look at her, "you might need a coat." He shrugged, grabbing a hoodie from his room for her along with his own coat for himself. "You can wear this, it's fleece-lined so it should keep you warm." 

Ashley looked at the hoodie, pulling it over her head, "I'm going to have more of your hoodies than you at this point, I've still got that other one from when I first stayed here." 

He grinned, shrugging, "oh well. Come on." 

She got up eagerly, keeping close to him so she didn't get lost down in the pits as he walked her around, introducing her to a lot of the dragons he worked with. "How many dragons do you have here?"

He paused to think for a second. "Um... a lot." He laughed, coming up blank. "Probably twenty or thirty-something, though I don't know the exact number; I don't work with all of them, just the ones I'm introducing you to."

"Still, you've introduced me to at least ten so far."

He grinned, noticing Ashley holding herself inwards, hands shoved in the pockets of his hoodie. He cast a heating spell on her, non-verbally obviously, and she blushed, turning away. 

"You didn't need to do that, I was ok." 

"You were cold. I'm not having you out here cold if I can help it." He smiled, walking her through the pits. "I'll show you to Norberta, our Norwegian Ridgeback. Hagrid gave her to us a few years ago, after he'd hatched her in his fireplace, I'm hoping to get him over here at some point to see her again." 

Ashley smiled, letting Charlie talk to her all about the species, listening to everything he had to say. She loved the way he looked when he spoke about something he was so passionate about, with fire in his eyes and soul, it warmed her from the inside out. She wondered if she was ever like that, though she doubted it. Ashley realised she'd been staring at him too long, looking away quickly, trying to focus on the dragon over her mind racing with thoughts of Charile, twisting the Caduceus necklace in her fingers. 

"We should probably get back so you can get at least some sleep before you start your shift again." He bumped her shoulder with his arm, and she smiled up at him. "You can stay at mine again if you like. I know you hate sleeping in a house by yourself."

Ashley thanked him, staring down at her shoes as they walked back, up the ridge and to his house. She hoped Charlie would think her silence was her being tired, though why he would think it anything else, she didn't know. Certainly, he couldn't know what she was thinking about.

He looked a little concerned before opening his front door again. "You're really quiet. Are you ok? Was-"

She smiled lightly, "I'm great, Charlie, thank you for showing me the dragons. Really, it was amazing." 

With a relieved look on his face, he opened the door and the two of them bid each other goodnight before shutting themselves away.

She laid on the bed that was more familiar than her own, staring at the ceiling still in Charlie's hoodie. She smiled, hugging it to her, breathing in the scent. It took her a moment to realise the gravity of the situation, to really understand what the hell was going on in her mind, and then another moment for her expression to change to one of dread. She couldn't do this, she couldn't just like Charlie, not when they were bound to be leaving in only a few months, so long as her dad was keeping to his schedule. 

And yet, there she was in his hoodie, unable to stop thinking about the what-ifs.


	23. incoming

19th June 1996

Ashley never thought she'd see the day when Charlie was in the hospital by himself and uninjured until it actually happened. Except when he put the newspaper on the desk in front of her, she wished it had never happened, willing time to go back so she didn't have to read in the papers that the Ministry had caught eleven Death Eaters and were even now admitting that Voldemort was indeed back and that Harry Potter had fought him in the Ministry itself. She felt sick. 

Charlie looked pissed, worried, and even relieved at the same time, talking about how finally the Ministry were seeing sense, maybe this time they wouldn't leave it to the kids to fight their war, how Ron and Ginny were so brave going to the Ministry alongside Harry... but none of it really sunk in, Ashley felt too overwhelmed. She knew before that Voldemort was back, but she'd never had to read it, never really had to confront that fact until it was quite literally staring her in the face. 

"Ashley! We've got incoming!" Pete yelled, and Ashley snapped right back to reality. 

"I've gotta-" She cut herself off by running back out to the front of the hospital where it looked like half the sanctuary was being carried through the doors. "Oh my fuck, what the hell happened?" She asked no one in particular, hoping someone would answer. 

"Dragon went on a rampage and broke free of the restraints. Not a pretty sight." Someone grimaced, and Ashley stared about the hospital. 

"Well, seems like we've got work to do." She muttered to herself, grabbing as much as she could carry through, handing every patient potions for pain, casting spells to heal bones and burns, using creams and ointments like they had an endless supply, which they probably should have looking at the absolute carnage in front of her. Pete was busy on his side of the room, going through supplies at ten miles an hour, trying to contain the chaos with little success. 

Ashley worked as fast as she could, discharging those who were safe to go, trying to get to everyone as quickly as possible, triaging patients in her head and trying not to let everything overwhelm her. It was easier for her to focus on work, it distracted her from everything else.   
Eventually, though, she was done, with a few still admitted, but most sent home to recuperate until tomorrow, and she was back with that sick feeling of dread in the bottom of her stomach. 

"How on earth did you work that fast?" Charlie was staring at her in amazement.

Ashley blinked, not really knowing what he was getting at.

"Seriously, you had more patients than Pete and you still finished at the same time as him, it was like ablur watching you treat someone and move onto the next person!" He was still staring, and Ashley had to avert her gaze to not get caught tripping over her own words. She really did need to get over this stupid crush. 

"I'm just good at working under pressure, I suppose. I always used to bury myself in work so I'd give myself way too much in too short a time so I wouldn't have to think about anything else going on with y mum or my dad, especially when he was in the hospital." She shrugged, not entirely sure why she was telling him this, but it felt better than the silence.

"Mum?" 

Ashley paused, scuffing her feet on the floor. "Yeah, she walked out when I was thirteen. Couldn't handle... well, couldn't handle dad being the way he is all the time, never compromising or anything, so she quit." Ashley couldn't bring herself to look up. "Sometimes I hate her for it, sometimes I envy her for being able to make that decision." 

Charlie placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to meet his gaze, but she refused. "You're doing amazing, Ash. Really, I'm proud of you for keeping going through it all, especially during the times we're going through right now." 

She smiled briefly, but it didn't reach her eyes and he could tell she was shoving all her pain back down again. "Anyway, were Ron and Ginny ok after the whole Department of Mysteries thing?" 

Charlie faltered, not wanting to change the subject, but knowing Ashley really didn't want to talk about it make his heart hurt. "Yeah, few cuts and bruises, nothing Madame Pomfrey couldn't fix."


	24. loved

17th July 

Ashley-Rae didn't easily get pissed off, despite recent events that may make you think otherwise, but after waiting for her dad to get home with dinner ready and dressed nicely for nearly five hours made her pissed beyond belief. She knew she'd reminded him that morning before going to work - and he'd responded so he couldn't say he didn't hear or wasn't paying attention. But instead of showing up to his own birthday dinner that Ashley had actually taken the time to cook and dress nicely for, that he'd promised he wouldn't be late for, he was out at work.  
There was something about that, that really got under her skin.

So it was safe to say she was fuming by the time he walked through the door at quarter to midnight.

"What in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing?" She didn't even wait for him to close the front door before starting.

"What- oh, Ash, I'm so-"

"No," she spoke quietly, trying to control her breathing, doing her best not to start yelling, "no, you don't get to be sorry. Not now. Not when I left work early, made dinner, made an effort, and have been waiting here for nearly five hours."

"Her dad looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I got caught up in work, it completely slipped my mind."

"Slipped- slipped your mind." Ashley fought a laugh, "you promised me you wouldn't be late. I thought that meant you'd actually show up, never mind on time or not." 

"Ashley- now hang on a minute, you could have come got me at any time, and yet instead you just sat here waiting?" 

Ashley didn't hold back her laugh that time. "Yes, blame me for this. So silly of me to think you wouldn't forget your own birthday, to think you'd show up and appreciate the effort I put in for you." She stood, grabbing the hoodie off the back of the chair along with her bag. "I don't know if I can do this, not any more."

"So you're going to walk out, just like your mother." 

Ashley paused before him, looking him dead in the eye before saying, "if people keep leaving you, maybe look for the common factor, for the common denominator, rather than blaming them. I think you'll find that in this case, the common denominator is you."   
And with that, she moved around him and left, heading over to the only person who made her feel appreciated and valued.

The door was unlocked, so she let herself in as Charlie always told her to, finding him sitting in the corner of the sofa reading a burgundy leather-bound book.

"I told my dad I'm leaving him." SHe said, drawing his attention immediately.

"You- what? O-ok. And... are you?" Charlie raised an eyebrow, noticing with a small smile she was wearing his hoodie.

Sighing, Ashley threw herself onto the sofa, misjudging it and nearly landing on top of Charlie. "Shit, I- sorry. Um. I don't know. I was pissed, it's his birthday so I made dinner, went home early and everything. He promised he wouldn't be late, and he only showed up ten minutes ago, so he wasn't late, he just didn't actually show up."

Charlie sighed, pulling her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "So it all got a bit much for you." 

Nodding, she relaxed into him, feeling more at home there than she'd ever felt in her life. "Told him I couldn't do it anymore." 

He thought for a few minutes, readjusting so he didn't get pins and needles in his leg. "Well, you could always stay here. Pete would love to have you permanently, and you could move in here so you're not alone at nights." 

Ashley paused, even her breath stuck in her throat. She'd never actually considered staying in Romania. Or anywhere, for that matter, she'd always just followed her dad. But maybe she could... She could help people here, be a Healer in an actual hospital rather than in some cursed forest, stay with Charlie...   
"I've never considered it before," she whispered, mostly to herself, "maybe I will. Stay, I mean."   
Ashley took a deep breath, looking up at Charlie, his ginger hair falling into his eyes and around his shoulders.  
It took all her will power not to kiss him there and then, turning back around, feeling his heartbeat against her back.

Ashley knew she shouldn't get too emotionally attached; it was one of her rules, after all; but now that there was a possibility of her staying, she decided to indulged her imagination for five minutes, pretending that Charlie could love her the way she was falling for him. Pretending just for five minutes that she could be loved.


	25. until October

2nd August

Michael had done so much to try and make it up to Ashley after forgetting his birthday dinner, she decided after a couple of weeks she couldn't stay mad at him forever. Besides, she'd noticed he never worked nights anymore so he was home nearly every night to make dinner for her so they could just be together for a bit.

So far, she'd not mentioned the fact that she was considering staying in Romania. Part of her hoped that with recent events (aka Voldy being out in the open) her dad would want to stay rather than risk travelling all over the place, even if they didn't go back to Britain for a while. Of course, she knew better, but Ashley wanted to avoid that awkward conversation, so she tried to convince herself it was possible. 

With Michael being home most nights now, she was able to sleep in her own bed now, something she knew she should be grateful for. The only issue was that Ashley was starting to miss Charlie, even though they still hung out, she always felt better in the mornings if she slept at his. She often felt like she was looking for excuses to sleep over at Charlie's instead of at her own place, and it wasn't because of her liking him more than a friend; at least, that's what she told herself. But it was obvious her dad knew something was off with her. 

Ashley stared down at the book in her hands, occasionally flicking through the pages without actually reading anything.

"Can we talk?" Michael looked nervous, but his expression changed to one of relief when she put the book down, nodding, unaware her heart skipped a beat, thinking he'd read her mind about staying in Romania. "So one of my acquaintances in Scotland has reached out, with an opportunity for us to go over there and work with quintapeds. It would be on the Isle of Drear, not the mainland, but there are several places for you to find work nearby if that's what you would rather." 

Ashley couldn't breathe for a second, trying to put the words in her head in order.

"Of course, I realise you've created quite a home here for yourself, you're more than within your rights to stay here, and I'll go to Scotland. I just thought that maybe you should know so you've got the choice. I only need an answer by October thirty-first, leaving day is the second of November." 

Ashley nodded, "th- thank you for letting me know. I... I suppose I'll have to think about it, really. You're right in that I've found a home here but... It's still something to think about. Especially with You-know-who back and causing havoc in Britain."

He nodded, as though he knew he was fighting a lost cause already.

"But that's not a no. It's... I'm going to think about it, I promise." Ashley resumed staring blankly at her book again, trying not to overthink everything. It was difficult, trying to figure out what the right thing to do was, always doing the right thing... But it just seemed to be who she was. This time though, she really didn't know what the right thing would be, whether it would be the right thing to do the selfish thing, or whether to do what she always did and throw away everything she knew and uproot her life for her dad all over again.

She looked up, staring through the windows, towards the mountains that loomed over them from all sides and decided to take a walk, think it over in the free air without worrying about anything apart from what she truly thought was the best thing for her to do. Ashley never did well with confinement anyway.   
She wrapped up, walking out, telling her father not to wait up. He didn't look surprised; whenever Ashley was trying to work through something she usually found the most open place she could and walked until her head was clear. She'd been doing it ever since her mum left. 

The night was surprisingly cold for early August, but then she supposed being on top of a mountain didn't exactly help matters. Three months to figure out if she was staying or if she was leaving. It seemed like ages, but Ashley knew it wasn't that far away, that she'd have to make a decision sooner rather than later.   
Staring ut at the sanctuary, watching the dragons parading around, fighting their restraints, it wasn't somewhere she ever thought she'd end up settling. Ashley never really thought she'd settle anywhere, nowhere ever felt like home, nowhere ever made her feel safe enough to stay.

Turning, she saw Charlie's house in the distance. She'd been there enough times to know exactly which one it was, even from so far away. Charlie made her feel safe enough, made her feel at home. Was that a good enough reason to stay? Maybe.   
But could she abandon her dad, the person she'd given up everything for, just for the slightest chance at being with someone who would forget her no more than a minute after she'd gone?

Ashley stared back out over the Pit, eyes catching sight of the hospital in the distance. She loved working there, loved it more than anything she'd ever done before, it made her feel like her becoming a Healer wasn't a waste, that she was genuinely good at something... And Pete. They'd become so close, closer than she'd ever been with someone while working before, he was more like a best friend now than someone just for business or just a colleague. There was so much keeping her here, so much to stay for. Her only question: would it be worth it?


	26. town

14th August

Ashley hadn't yet spoken to Charlie about the conversation with her dad, though she knew she would have to soon. She always liked to be sure in her decisions before telling anyone, so she hadn't discussed it with anyone, trying to debate it all in her head. 

She'd made a decision, but she wasn't completely set in it yet. It was concerning to her that she didn't immediately know what she was going to do: usually in situations like this she made an instant decision, knowing exactly what to do, but this time it wasn't so easy. She'd taken the day off from work, walking to the nearby town to try and get away from it all. Plus, she'd never been, and she was rather curious. 

She wandered around the shops, smiling to the few wizards and witches going about their business, a small shop on the corner catching her eye. She stared in the window, trying to figure out what was so familiar about it. She shrugged, deciding to walk in, looking around at the clothes on the racks, reading about their magical properties on the tags before noticing a jewellery counter in the middle of the shop floor. She walked over, admiring the rings and bracelets and necklaces through the glass, admiring the intricacy of each piece. 

"Can I help you?" A woman asked, in a surprisingly mild accent. 

Ashley glanced up for a second, moving her hair out of her face before shaking her head. "No thank you."

The woman stared for a second, looking as though she'd seen a ghost, removing quickly and nodding, walking calmly back to the desk where she came from. Ashley tried not to notice, instead taking her time around the shop before settling on a new jacket, bringing it to the counter where the woman was still looking white as a sheet.

"Just this." Ashley smiled, and the woman nodded silently, which she found strange, but didn't think much of it. She took the jacket after she paid, putting it in her bag, heading back out. There were a few things she needed to get for herself, including topping up on ingredients for her medical supplies. Not that she would need to be doing it for much longer. 

Before long, it was nearly 6 pm, so she headed back home. It was strange, the moment she realised she'd thought of it as home rather than the sanctuary, realising she had made up her mind and wasn't going back now. She smiled to herself, refusing to let her mind wander to how her dad would react.   
"He's a grown man, he can handle it." She found herself muttering before even setting eyes back on the house. She knew he would be ok with it; he'd have to be. She'd made her choice, and there was nothing he could do to change that.   
She reached the house just past six, just as her dad was going out to work. 

"Ashley!" He smiled, surprised to see her. She hadn't told anyone apart from Pete she was taking the day off, leaving before Michael was even awake. 

"Hi dad." She tried a smile but she could tell it looked forced. "Just wanted to talk to you later, when you get back from your shift?" 

He looked a little uneasy at that. "I'm on a double night and midnight shift tonight Ash. Won't be home until ten tomorrow." 

Ashley nodded, "ok, when I've finished work then, tomorrow."

He nodded, keeping his expression neutral. Ashley wasn't sure if that meant that he knew what she was going to say or if he wasn't sure what her decision was, but it didn't really make a difference at this point. 

She headed over to Charlie's. She let herself in, sitting in her usual place on the sofa, relaxing into the familiarity, ignoring Charlie's stare. She knew if she looked over and met his gaze she wouldn't be able to think right. He made her nervous, giving her butterflies in her stomach. 

Ashley would have to get over that now she was staying. 

"Are you Ok? Do you need a cup of tea?"

She laid back, looking at him inside down over the arm of the sofa. "No, I'm good. I went to the town today and had the strangest interaction with a shopkeeper, but I bought a jacket from her so it's all good." She shrugged, turning around properly. "Decided I should probably check it out if I'm staying." She smiled as he stopped, mug of whatever halfway to his mouth. 

"You're staying? Like... with your dad, or is he moving on?" He asked, and Ashley didn't even think he was breathing at that point.

"He's going to Scotland, I've decided to stay. I've not told him yet, said we'd talk after my shift tomorrow, cause he's on a double tonight apparently. Which is fine, it can wait, I don't easily change my mind, so I doubt I will this time." He grinned, walking quickly over to her, putting his mug on the table before pulling her up to standing so he could give her a hug. 

"I would have missed you so much!" He mumbled into her hair, and she squeezed him a little, burying her face into his shoulder. 

There was nothing more really to say, but the two of them stayed like that for several moments, just enjoying each other's embrace. 

"So you're moving in here?" Charlie asked suddenly. Ashley pulled away to look at him with a nervous smile, "if that's ok?" 

Grinning he pulled her back in, "that's perfect."


	27. everything

30th August

It had been two weeks since Ashley had told her dad she was staying in Romania when he left. It had gone better than she could have ever imagined, with her dad saying he completely understood her decision and supporting her with it all, making sure she had a plan rather than her just jumping into the deep end.   
He was often busy in the study during the days, getting things sorted for November, taking more midnight shifts so he could get things done and still spend some time with Ashley at the end of her day. Occasionally she'd walk him down to the pit before heading back to Charlie's for some sleep as long as he wasn't working. Sometimes she'd have to deal with catnaps and coffee, but she wasn't too bothered by it. 

She waved her dad goodbye, walking back to the ridge, staring down at the pits. He was working with introducing and training the new dragons they'd brought in a few days ago from some hunting county, so there were definitely going to be a few injuries tonight. She shrugged; that wasn't her issue until the morning. She took a short nap at her own house before waking again, getting dressed and heading back out, making sure she had her bag and key before closing her front door.

Usually, she'd climb one of the mountains until sunrise, staring out over the surrounding areas, admiring the view from what felt like the highest point she'd ever been to, but she decided to talk a walk through the pit instead. 

Ashley took a deep breath, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her chest as she stepped over the ridge, walking down the worn track towards the pit. She saw her dad working on one of the new ones close by, so she decided to stay for a few minutes and watch him work, making sure to stay well out of the way of the workers and of the dragons just in case it decided to go on a rampage and torch everything in sight. 

Of course, barely thirty seconds later everything decided to go wrong, the dragon getting annoyed at the trainers, breaking free of the restraints, crushing everything in its path and breathing fire at the sky. Ashley stopped breathing, backing away slowly so as to not draw attention to herself when he saw her dad in the way of the dragon, and not looking as though he was about to move any time soon. 

"Absolutely not." She whispered, instinct taking over as she ran at full speed towards him, diving out of the way and tackling him to the ground, dragging him away as the dragon tried it's best to incinerate them.

"Ashley-Rae, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" he yelled over the noise.

"No idea." She gasped, still trying to register what she'd done, realising that she'd just saved her dad from becoming dragon food. She lay down on the floor, taking a few deep breaths before pulling herself to a crouch, not sure what to do now she was so far away from her only point out of the chaos. 

"Hey- Ashley what are you doing here?" Charlie appeared by them, making her jump, heart in her throat.

Ashley felt like she could hardly breathe, barely managing to give him the same answer she'd given her father moments ago.

Charlie looked worried for a second, before recovering and getting control of the situation, giving her the instruction to stay low and out of the dragon's way until someone gave the all-clear. 

This was one of the few times that Ashley followed instructions to a T, making sure to keep track of whatever was going on so she could stay well out of the way.   
Until of course, she noticed a body lying on the floor ten metres out, not moving. She took a shaky breath before moving out, trying to keep low and out of sight, crawling over. She nearly had a heart attack as she saw the extent of the injuries, but she had to focus on finding a pulse before everything else. She nearly cried as she felt something, faint but there, injecting a few options to mend the crushed bones and blood volume, hoping it would work in time. Casting healing spell after healing spell, she tried to keep her cool, muttering to herself over and over that her dad would be ok, at least if she could save this one person then it would have been worth her not being there for him. 

Whether she believed that or not was a complete other question. 

She tried to recognise whoever it was, but she didn't exactly spend a lot of time with everyone at the sanctuary, especially those on the midnight shifts as they usually only went to the hospital during the night shift at the hospital. She sat with him, occasionally trying to get him to take another potion to help with the pain and with the injuries he'd sustained, knowing she wouldn't be able to move him by herself. She waited there, alert for anything heading her way that could potentially help or harm either of them. She was praying for the former. 

"Ashley!" She heard Charlie in the distance as the fighting stopped, and she stood, trying to see where he was coming from, but the darkness had fully taken over and even accustomed to it her eyesight wasn't that good. 

"Here!" She yelled, waving her arms, not wanting to leave whoever she'd just tried to save. She knew he wasn't out of the woods yet and she didn't want to miss anything that could kill him if found too late. 

He appeared a few moments later, out of breath and shaking a bit. "You need to get to the hospital now. Your dad-"

Ashley's blood ran cold, and she felt as though her chest was being crushed. "No." She whispered to herself, not wanting to believe whatever Charlie was trying to say. "I need- I don't know who this is but get him to the hospital." She told him, speaking too quickly before apparating herself to the hospital just as a group of trainers lay her dad on one of the beds in the hospital. "Dad." She gasped, shoving people out of the way so she could get there. As soon as she saw him it was like a switch had flipped in her brain and she was suddenly in Healer mode, emotion out of the window. "I've got this." She said to James, who simply nodded and backed off.

Working tirelessly, she did everything she could to stabilise him and heal whatever she could, doing her best and then some more, refusing to let anything but work in her mind. She treated him with everything, doing things she hadn't done since she was seventeen and he was caught in an avalanche and hadn't had the good sense to apparate out of there. 

Charlie stood back, watching her working in a flurry, it almost seemed as though she was a blur with how fast she was going, but seeing her stone-cold and emotionless unsettled him. There was just something about how she'd switched it in merely a few seconds, becoming more like a robot than human with such ease, slipping into in seemingly comfortably that made his skin crawl. But it certainly didn't make him like her any less.

Finishing, Ashley collapsed back into a chair, refusing to feel anything even now. She rested her elbows on the side of the bed, holding her head in her hands. Charlie walked over and sat beside her, leaning into her for comfort. 

"He'll be ok, Ash." He spoke softly.

She was shaking, though she wasn't quite sure why. Possibly adrenaline. "What if it's not enough." 

"You can't start thinking like that. you're an incredible Healer, he'll pull through this." He realised she was shutting down, refusing to let her emotions take any kind of control, shutting everyone out, including him.

"I-" She took a shaky breath, lifting her head, "I can't stay here and leave him to go to Scotland. I have to go with him, I have to be there for him." She noticed that when she said that, Charlie seemed a bit gloomy, though he tried his best to hide it.

"Ashley, you couldn't have prevented this, you couldn't have done any more to save him. He'll be ok, you've done more than enough."

"You don't know that. I don't know that." She looked at him, eyes completely void of emotion. "I do this so I never have to feel as hopeless as I did when I was twelve, as completely alone and scared and useless. So I can't watch him leave, I can't just abandon him. Not after this."


	28. distraction

13th September

Ashley had sorted out her accompanying her father to Scotland before he was even lucid enough to understand what she was saying when she told him. Of course, it was her way of making sure everything was settled, keeping her mind occupied by something other than her dad or Charlie. 

Though keeping Charlie out of her thoughts was proving difficult as she spent most of her time with him at home or with the dragons, or sleeping in his spare bedroom. It certainly wasn’t helping matters, but Ashley was too far into things to back out now, and besides, what excuse could she give for suddenly never seeing him anymore: “I’ve been practically in love with you for months but have been too oblivious of my own feelings and scared of rejection to tell you”? That would not go down well. 

Besides, he really loved showing her all of the dragons, telling her all about each species and all of his techniques with dealing with each of them and she didn’t want to ruin that for anything. She couldn’t. 

She glanced up at him from her side of the sofa, watching as his hair fell into his eyes as he tried to read and she smiled softly. Ashley had found a few books on dragons she knew Charlie hadn’t read yet and had brought them over for him so they were sat at opposite ends of the sofa reading. His face when she’d handed them over to him to read made her heart ache, giving her an empty feeling in the bottom of her stomach. 

“Ash? Everything ok?” He dragged her out of her thoughts and she blushed slightly, realising she’d been staring and caught. 

“Sorry, I spaced out.” 

“You doing ok? You seem anxious. Is it your dad?”

Ashley didn’t respond at first, prompting Charlie to lean forward and pull her on top of him on his side of the sofa, the two of them half sitting half lying against each other. “I told him I was going with him yesterday. I’ve already sorted everything out for it, but... I don’t think he’s quite back yet. I don’t think he even knew what I was talking about.”

Charlie traced circled onto her back with his fingers. “That’s ok. You can tell him again when he’s feeling better and I bet he’ll be ecstatic you’re going with him and even sorted it all out.” 

“I know you’re disappointed.” She closed her eyes as she felt Charlie’s hand pause on her back, wondering for a second if she’d said the wrong thing.

”I’m not at all disappointed.” He pulled back, pushing her up and letting her rest against his hands while he addressed her. “I’m not disappointed. You’ve made your decision and it was a difficult one for you to make. I understand, he’s your dad. But I’ll miss you.” He let her back down, going back to tracing circles on her back. “Especially being called ‘Princess’ when I argue with you in the hospital.” He joked, smiling as he made her laugh a little. 

“You can always get Pete to call you Princess.” She suggested, grinning at the image. 

“It wouldn’t be the same. But really. I’ll miss you. But I’m not disappointed. Besides, you can always come visit, Mango will wonder what’s happened to you if you don’t.”

At that moment, Mango jumped up onto Ashley’s lap and curled up against her. spurting some smoke as he slept. She sadly smiled and started petting Mango.

Ashley relaxed into Charlie, feeling all her worries slipping away for a bit. “I’ll miss you too. So much.”

he hugged her tightly before saying, “me or the dinners? Or the hoodies maybe?” 

“Oh, definitely the spare room.” She looked up at him with a wicked grin, “the free dinners were a bonus though.”

”I knew it! Using me for my spare bed and my cooking! How dare you!” He laughed, thankful he’d distracted her from her anxieties even if just for a moment.

There was a part of him that wanted to try and convince her to stay, but he knew that if he did and anything happened to her dad in Scotland, he’d never forgive himself. Besides, the guilt would eat him alive, and admitting his love for her was way out of the question.


	29. this is goodbye

2nd November

Ashley-Rae stared out at their packed bags. It seemed as though they were taking more than they arrived with, but that didn’t make much sense considering they usually didn’t acquire anything extra or ‘unnecessary’ when travelling. 

“Can’t sleep?” Michael appeared in the entrance of the hallway.

She just shook her head.

Nodding, he sat in the armchair nearly opposite her. “Having second thoughts?”

”No. Just... I can never sleep before we travel.” She shrugged, “I don’t know what it is.” 

“Ah. Because I was thinking it had something to do with a certain redhead about three houses down?” 

Ashley stared at him, mouth open but no words coming out. “H- how-“

”I’m your dad, Ash, give me some credit for knowing you,” he laughed, “so? Is it a thing? Is that what’s keeping you up?”

Shaking her head, Ashley looked down, messing with the sleeve of Charlie’s hoodie. “No. He doesn’t... I don’t think he likes me. Not in the way I like him.” She’d have to return it. Her dad had already packed one of them thinking it was hers, and she hadn’t been able to find it yet in the mess of everything, so she’d have to deliver that one back at a later date, but this one she’d return. But for now, she’d wear it as long as possible. 

“That’s a tricky one.” He hummed. “Have you spoken to him about it? Actually told him how you feel? Because let me tell you, Ashley, men are stupidly obvious to hints no matter how obvious you think you’re being. We just can’t pick them up!”

Laughing, she shook her head, “I wouldn’t know what to say, and I don’t want to make a fool out of myself.”

”and here lies your issue.” He grinned, “seriously though. Tell him. Chances are he has no idea. And if you don’t, you’ll be haunted by what-ifs your whole life. Write it down if you need, but tell him.” 

“And what? Assuming he even likes me back are we supposed to have a long-distance relationship from Scotland to Romania? Unlikely. Not to mention if he doesn’t.”

”that’s the whole reason to do it now, surely? When you can escape miles away if he doesn’t. If he does, you have an answer and you can come back at any time.”

Ashley paused. It made sense, as much as she hated to admit it. Would it be so terrible to tell Charlie about her feelings towards him?

Her dad, satisfied with his advice, settled back with a book he pulled from one of the bags and began reading, leaving her to deal with her own thoughts and doubts about it all. 

She tore a piece of paper out of a notebook, taking a pen and leaning on the arm on the sofa, using the notebook to steady it so she didn’t tear through the paper. 

How was she supposed to pour her heart out onto paper? Writing simply that she liked him felt too blunt, too harsh, too like a teenager. But what was she supposed to write instead? She could barely understand her feelings, barely able to separate them from that nervous feeling he gave her when he walked in the room or even just looked in her general direction. But she refused to back out now, deciding to just write and hope that she managed to write something at least coherent enough for him to understand. 

-

Ashley had known this day was coming since they'd arrived a year ago, but she hadn't known it was going to hurt quite so much. Of course, she'd broken nearly every rule in her book since arriving, and she could definitely give credit to Charlie for half of her offences at least. Not that she blamed him, but a small part of her definitely thought it was his fault, 

Charlie had walked them to their leaving place, even carrying one of Ashley's bags for her. Pete had stopped by earlier and bid them both goodbye, reminding Ash that she'd always have a place in the hospital - but hopefully as a Healer rather than a patient. 

"I guess this is it." Ashley sighed, staring at the portkey before taking hold, not wanting to miss the time of departure. 

Charlie didn't respond, but she could see the sadness in his eyes that he was trying to hide. 

"Oh," she remembered, pulling the hoodie off, "here. I can't very well take both of your hoodies to Scotland with me, I'll have to return the other one later, I'll send it by owl maybe when we get there and settled."

Charlie looked at her as though she was speaking nonsense. "You very well can take both, and you don't need to return either." 

"Charlie, really, I can't. Please just take the hoodie." She tried to insist. 

"Only if you promise not to send the other one back." He grinned, making her smile a little, but roll her eyes anyway.

"Fine, just take the hoodie back." She laughed, shouldering her bag, taking hold of the portkey.

He stared down at the hoodie in his hands for a moment. "Will you be coming back?" He didn't look up.

Ashley paused, trying to smile but feeling like it came across as more of a grimace. "Maybe." 

Trying his best to stay optimistic, Charlie smiled at her. "Well then, I suppose I'll see you later."

And seconds later, he was alone, hoping that she'd come back, even if just for a few minutes, just so he could give her one last hug, see her smile one more time.  
He pulled on the hoodie that she'd just given him, breathing in and smiling to himself, walking back towards the sanctuary. He shoved his hands in the pockets, frowning as his hand closed around a folded piece of paper. He pulled it out, opened it, and nearly cried as he read the words he'd been too afraid to say to Ashley-Rae since she'd first called him 'princess' that day in the hospital.


	30. It's fine

1st August 1997

Charlie had never imagined that the girl he met at the dragon sanctuary a year and a half ago would be his sister in law, but there he was with Bill getting ready for his wedding. Being best man wasn't really what he'd ever thought it would be - not that Charlie ever really thought he would be best man to anybody - but he did suppose they were in the middle of a war, so most of his duties had been thrown out and now consisted of making sure Bill was ready on time and everything for the wedding was ready on time. Nothing too big. 

Bill was concerned, too, about Charlie. The man had barely spoken a word to anyone about what had happened with Ashley-Rae, though it had become apparent to him that something had gone on as soon as Charlie shut down conversation about her rather abruptly one time and refused to engage in any conversation relating to her. It made things a little awkward for the brothers at first but they'd soon gotten over it. 

"Are you two nearly done, we need Charlie to help with the tent?" Arthur called through the door, and Bill nodded to him, letting him go out to the field where the marquee was to be put up for the wedding. 

Charlie emerged, ignoring his dad's comments about not being dressed yet, and went out to the front with him, pulling out his wand and getting in position. His dad counted down and they all cast their spells, lifting the tent above the ground so they could anchor it in place, using a few more spells to ensure it would be secure.

They all heard a crack somewhere, and, assuming it was another family member, Charlie left to go get ready inside. 

"Alright, Charlie?" George asked, his toothbrush stuck out of the hole where his ear used to be. "You're not dressed yet, don't tell us the best man is running late." 

"Mum'll go nuts if she sees you with your toothbrush like that." He laughed, shaking his head. 

"Oh, who's this?" Molly asked, drawing the attention of the brothers from the kitchen to the backdoor. 

"Um, hi, I'm-"

"Ashley." Charlie could hardly breathe.

Ashley stopped, eyes glued to Molly's face, and she could feel the blood draining from her face. Slowly, she turned to him, knuckles going white as she clutched her bag strap. "Hey."

Molly looked between the two. "Ashley as in-"

"Ashley-Rae," Ashley whispered.

"As in the Ashley-"

"Yeah." Charlie's voice was barely audible. 

Molly cursed, and everyone was staring at the two of them, wondering who was going to say something first, who was going to break the tension.

"Ashley!" Fleur called out, "you made it!" 

"Fleur." Ashley relaxed and ran over to the bride. "How are you?" 

"I am perfect! I love what you've done with your hair." She touched the now blonde hair that Ashley was sporting.

Ashley nodded. "I think I should maybe... not be here in this room." She whispered, and Fleur glanced over where everyone was still staring at Ashley, Charlie included. 

"Ah, oui. Come with me, you may change in my room with us girls." She took her by the hand and pulled her up the stairs and out of sight. 

And then all the attention turned to Charlie. 

"That is Ashley-Rae?" Fred said from the doorway, still in shock. 

Molly shushed him, "don't be so rude." 

Bill appeared now, at the bottom of the stairs, unnerved by the fact that Charlie was seemingly staring at him. "What? Is there something wrong?" 

Snapping out of it, Charlie shook his head and forced a smile. "Everything is fine. It's good, we're all... good." He finished with a sigh. "I should go and get changed." 

Bill gave him a strange look, walking over to the rest of his family to ask what it was all about.

"Do you have any idea why he's just reacted like that?" Molly whispered to her husband who shrugged. "Bill, he talks to you most, did anything happen with Ashley-Rae? She's just turned up, and-"

"Ashley-Rae is here? Oh- Oh, Fleur's invited her for the wedding, oh Merlin's pants on fire." 

"So something happened?" Molly grabbed his arm, "what happened? Is he ok?"

Bill shrugged, trying to wriggle free, "he won't say, won't talk about her. If you let me go I can find out." 

She nodded, letting go of his arm. "Let us know if he's ok."

"I'm sure he's fine, mum. He said so himself." Fred said dismissively, earning a swat around the head from George.

"I always knew I was the smarter twin, but that was the most moronic thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth."


	31. come home

1st August / 2nd August

Charlie's biggest regret was never responding to Ashley-Rae's letter.

The words were burned into his memory, even after that first time reading it. 

But seeing her across the marquee in her dress, laughing and talking with his family, he couldn't even remember his name, much less his reasoning as to why he never answered her. And yet, he was still undeniably in love with every inch of her being. 

"Go talk to her," Bill spoke from beside him. "Just a normal conversation." And he left to the dance floor with his new wife.

Charlie paused, but knew that he should say something, even if it was just that she looked gorgeous. Slowly, he made his way over to her, though what he would say when he got there, he really didn't know. 

And then all hell broke loose.

-

The Weasley family - minus a few - were all gathered in the kitchen, still in their outfits from the wedding. Mrs Weasley was doing her best to patch everyone up, but there was only so much she could do with limited knowledge of their injuries, but she did an incredible job, though it was fairly obvious she was completely shaken to her core. 

"Mum, really, I'm fine, you look like you need to go lie down." Charlie backed away slowly.

"Charlie, please sit still for just one minute! You're limping, you are certainly not fine." She pleaded, watching the cursed wound on his thigh, "it doesn't look too good."

"Mum I'm fine, I just need to get back-"

"Sit your ass down in that chair before I superglue you to it, Princess." Ashley glared at him, arms crossed, as everyone turned to stare at her with a mixture of shock, confusion and fear. 

Charlie immediately sat, then looked slightly embarrassed. 

"How did-" Arthur suddenly had the good sense to draw his wand, as did Molly and Bill.

"Oh relax," Ashley pulled her medical bag out of her rucksack, "I was part of the Order before I even left Hogwarts." 

The twins looked at each other before bursting into laughter, "'princess'?" 

Ashley didn't bother to spare them a glance, focusing on Charlie's injuries before her. "If either of you want to be treated within the next century, shut up and behave." 

The two of them looked at her, wondering if she was joking, but seeing as she was a Healer and the best chance they had at recovering from the ordeal they'd just been through, they sat tight and waited for her to get round to them, sending everyone off to bed as soon as they were done. 

"Oh and Charlie?" She called, not quite turning to face him as he paused int he doorway, "you're not going anywhere for two weeks. Someone needs to keep an eye on that leg, and I know for a fact that if you go back to Romania, you'll just let it fall off before getting it seen to."

He nodded, disappearing again. 

As soon as she was certain she was alone, Ashley let her facade drop, collapsing into the nearest chair.   
She didn't know why, but she still felt the need to pretend she was ok in front of everyone, even after escaping her dad. She supposed that was the remains of his controlling behaviour buried somewhere inside her. Whatever, she didn't have time. She took a deep breath, cutting the fabric away around her side and ribcage, trying to breathe through the pain. Whatever had happened, nothing was working to take the pain away, and the curse was working its way through her body like poison. 

"Hey, Ash- Oh Merlin." Charlie suddenly appeared in the doorway again, eyes glued to the web of darkness spreading on Ashley's side.

Ashley looked up, fear written clear as day on her face. "It's nothing, easily fixable." She was already putting up her walls, even though she knew it was only Charlie, he'd seen her in worse condition than this. 

"Somehow I doubt that." He sighed, walking over, doing his best not to limp, though she could tell he was in pain. "Here, what do I need?" He asked, pulling her bag out of reach and going through it, pulling out everything she asked for, though he refused to let her treat herself. "You took care of my injuries, let me take care of yours. Besides, I'm not sure you could contort yourself around to manage to get at it."

He spun her chair around with his good arm, leaning over so he could better see the cursed injury, taking the liquidised whatever she'd had him make and poured it over the wound. He flinched back as Ashley made a muffled sound of pain, and looked up to see her fighting tears back. "Is it ok? It is working?" he asked, concerned he'd managed to do it wrong and was now causing her more pain.

She managed a nod. "It's just- it stings a little." She spoke quietly, her voice catching, and he tried to hurry up, pressing the soaked cloth to her side, his heart beating too fast as he watched her try not to cry out, and all he wanted to do was just hold her. 

"There, we're all done," Charlie tried to speak softly. "Give me a second." He twisted, grabbing a bandage roll from the table, and took a deep breath, "please tell me you can take the dress off without..." He didn't need to finish, though Ashley found it cute how he blushed and looked away.

"I can. Technically, I'll-" She sucked in a breath as the cloth moved slightly. "I'll need to cut the top away." 

He froze. "With scissors?" 

Ashley rolled her eyes but tried to grab the scissors, tears springing to her eyes as the friction from the wound sent pain shooting through her body. "New plan, you're going to cut the top off, I'll hold the cloth." 

Trying not to blush too much, Charlie handed over to her, trying not to think too much as he cut along the seams of the dress before pulling it away. "I'll get you something to cover up with after." He muttered, quickly wrapping the cloth to her side, making sure it was secure. "Ok, I'll go grab you something." He stood, immediately remembering that his leg was injured as he tried to put his weight on it. 

"I've got clothes in my bag." She suggested, but he just gave her a look. 

"I'll be back in a minute." He disapparated to his room, grabbing a t-shirt and hoodie just in case she got cold, grabbing some jeans and a top for himself. He couldn't believe he'd even managed to last until then in the suit, he hated them so much. He apparated back to her, frowning at her amused expression. 

She shook her head, thanking him for the clothes and pulling them on, having already put her jeans on from the previous day. "You should get to bed. Like, really, that leg is not going to get better if you keep treating it like that."

"Oh? And what were you going to do with your injury? Go back to Scotland and pretend to your dad everything's fine?" He grinned, but stopped as she didn't reciprocate. "What, is there something- did I do something wrong?"

"No," Ashley smiled, but he could tell it was forced and she knew it, "but I don't work with him anymore." 

He blinked, trying to get his head around that. "I- wait..." 

Ashley rolled her eyes, standing and taking a deep breath as the pain became a little too much. "Bed, go on." She walked through to the living room, making herself comfy on the sofa. "I won't leave 'til the morning." 

"Not good enough." He followed her, albeit slowly with his leg. "Talk to me, please." 

Glaring, she sat up.

He faltered, knowing she probably really didn't want to open up to him about any of it after what he'd done. "At least-"

"What did you come back for?" She asked, cutting him off.

"Hm?" He frowned a little.

"You came back after I sent you to bed. Why'd you come back?" She raised an eyebrow, already putting her defences back up.

"Oh," He looked down at his shoes, a little embarrassed now. "To tell you I'm sorry. For not-"

"We don't- you don't have to apologise, we don't have to do this." Ashley pulled her hair out of the bun that was now giving her a headache after so many hours. "Ever. I got my answer, it was nine months ago. I've had time to get over it, to be ok with it."

Charlie sighed in defeat. "I didn't know how to respond." He sat in a chair, resting his leg in the table in front of him. "The first thing I wanted to do was-"

"Charlie I said we don't have to do this now." She spoke softly, but he could see the pain in her eyes, so he closed his mouth. "I know you want to ask, so do it."

He blinked. "What happened with your dad?" 

She smiled, but it was bitter, and he could feel the anger radiating off her. "I didn't mean that question but ok. Well, I went with him to Scotland, as I was supposed to, get there and immediately everything goes wrong, and as I'm busy getting him fixed up, I get sent flying. Broken ribs, shattered elbow, few others, but whatever, I end up in the hospital, then get sent to St Mungo's because of some complication, I forget what. My consciousness was patchy at best. And he didn't once visit or send a letter, radio silence from him entirely. So I go back because I assumed he was injured after it all and he's... Well. There was a fight and he said he'd cut me off so I laughed in his face and left. Went back to St Mungos, took some temporary work with them."

"So... you were there when Bill went in after the Astronomy tower?"

"I treated him." Ashley nodded. "Yeah, and then Fleur and I just sort of started writing to each other a lot."

Charlie nodded, a little quiet. "Are you ok now?"

Ashley nodded, "yeah. Yeah, I'm just getting used to everything, being on my own, not having my dad there for me all the time." She smiled softly, "I'm ok."

"Why didn't you tell me you were in the Order?" He asked.

"Ah, that's the question I was waiting for." She grinned, leaning back, making sure to be careful of not hurting her side any more, "because I was sworn to secrecy until necessary. Yesterday it became necessary. Besides, it was never really relevant to anything, seeing as I wasn't particularly active, my dad did all the actual work, I just kept him alive to do it." 

Charlie nodded. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." 

Looking up at her, it felt like nothing really had changed, like they were still the people they were back at the sanctuary. "Come back."

She looked up at him, not really knowing what he was talking about. 

"To the sanctuary."

She smiled, "I thought about it. But I've got work here. And besides, I'm not sure if I'd quite fit there." 

Charlie looked away, though she could have sworn she saw sadness in his eyes. "You'll always have a home with us. You'll always have a place with us."


	32. leaving again

3rd August 

Leaving once was hard enough, leaving twice was torture.   
But Ashley-Rae knew she couldn't stay. It hurt too much to be around Charlie still, though she was doing her best to get over him. Of course, he didn't know that, and she really did need to get back to work, she just hoped that it would be enough to distract her.

He still asked her to consider coming back to the sanctuary, and Ashley would never admit, but she was tempted. She promised to write at least once, bidding goodbye to everyone before walking away, apparating back to work. 

Charlie sighed quietly, retiring to his room, grateful to take the weight off his leg. Ashley was right when she'd said he wouldn't be going anywhere for a few days. But that didn't mean he couldn't write to Pete.   
He knew Pete was thinking of leaving and starting another sanctuary in South Africa, which meant they would need someone to take over the hospital. James had already declined, and the other Healer, Abigale, had only been there for a few months, so there was no way Pete would trust her with his hospital. Leaving Ashley in charge would probably be the best scenario, and maybe then she'd let Charlie talk to her about the complete mess he'd made of their friendship. 

"Charlie?" Someone yelled from down the stairs over the ruckus that the twins were making. 

He sent the letter on its way, taking some more of whatever potion Ash had given him, and appeared at the top of the stairs where Ginny was. "What's up?" He called down, and she just shrugged.

"Mum's asking for you."

Charlie refrained from rolling his eyes too much, walking down and leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen where Molly was busy cleaning the remains of lunch. "What's up, mum?" He asked, shaking his hair out of his face. He knew he should have tied it back but his hair ties had all disappeared again. He was starting to see why Ginny had always asked for more when she was younger, the things disappear after three seconds of being placed anywhere. 

"You need a hair cut." She tutted, before looking up at him with a softer expression. "Don't you think you should talk to her?" 

"Who? Ashley-Rae?" He frowned as she nodded. "No, not yet. Besides, I'm not sure she wants to talk to me about it."

"About what?"

Charlie smiled at the floor, "nice try, mum." He shook his head and disappeared back upstairs, ducking as something flew down from the twin's room at speed. 

"Sorry, Charl!" One of them yelled as they hurtled down the stairs after it. 

There was something about the chaos that made him feel at home, but more than ever he missed his dragons. He sat back on his bed, flicking through the pages of some book or other; he wasn't entirely sure which as he wasn't actually reading the words in front of his face. 

"Charlie!" Bill burst into the room, Fleur in tow.

"Um, hello?" Charlie sat up, confused. 

Fleur looked a determined, a look that made Charlie afraid for what was going t happen next. "We aren't leaving this room until you tell us what happened." 

He looked between the newly married couple. 

"With Ashley." Bill crossed his arms, though Charlie was more afraid of his wife than his brother. 

"Ummmmm..." he stalled. 

Fleur raised an eyebrow, taking a seat at Charlie's desk. "Start talking." 

Bill closed the door with a flick of his wand, leaning against the chest of drawers. 

Resigning himself to defeat, Charlie reached over to his bag, opening the side pocket and pulling out the letter he'd memorised, and tossing it to Bill, who gave him a strange look before opening it.

Charlie laid back, not wanting to see their expressions as they read the letter. It was nerve-racking, and he wasn't sure how he was going to tell that what he'd done - or, more accurately, what he hadn't done.

"So... what's the issue? You don't feel the same so you stopped talking to her?" Fleur asked, visibly confused, re-folding the letter and handing it back to him. 

Charlie shook his head.

"This doesn't make sense mate, what happened? This doesn't explain anything." 

Sighing, he sat up, eyes trained on the floorboards. "This issue is that I feel exactly the same." He couldn't say the rest, though he could tell Bill had guessed. "You're really gonna make me say it?" 

"Say what?" Fleur asked, leaning forward.

"I didn't respond." He shifted his gaze to her. "I didn't write back, or visit, I didn't tell her how I felt, and I'm like ninety-nine per cent sure she thinks I'm indifferent to her now. She doesn't want to talk about it. And trust me, I tried, last night. She didn't want to hear it."

Bill sighed, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling as Fleur put her head in her hands. 

"Men- men are stupid." Fleur decided. "That was- Well why don't you write to her?" She suggested, but Charlie sighed.

"I don't know what to say. And I can't copy what she said to me, or she'll think I'm mocking her, which I don't want her to think."

Fleur sighed in frustration. "I see now why you refused to talk about it. You must feel heartbroken, she doesn't want to know you love her."

Charlie smiled briefly, trying to keep everything pushed down, trying to bottle everything up. 

Bill didn't really know what to say, moving to the bed to comfort his younger brother. "I'm sure there will come a time when you can tell her."

Charlie nodded, but he wasn't so sure.


	33. Domesticity

12 September

Ashley-Rae knew as soon as she saw Pete that Charlie wasn't giving up so easily on her. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing, but it was certainly something. She approached him, not entirely sure what his plan was, showing up at her place of work with no warning, but it must be good if he was willing to travel so many miles. "Pete, you're a long way from home." 

Pete grinned, fairly comfortable in the hospital. "I heard you were working here. Wondering how the domesticity is suiting you?"

She gave him a look, pulling out her charts.

"Wondered if you were open to the idea of coming back to Romania."

"Charlie doesn't give up, does he?" She rolled her eyes.

Pete shook his head. "They're going to need someone to take over the hospital once I'm gone anyway.

Ashley stopped sorting her charts for a second, not looking at him. She didn't want to give anything away. "You're leaving?" 

"To South Africa," he explained, "to start another sanctuary over there. So, I won wondering-"

"Charlie was wondering."

"We were both wondering," he corrected, giving her a pointed look, "if you wanted the job. You already know how it runs, you know the ins and outs of the hospital better than anyone, maybe even myself, and you have a lot more hands-on experience with the type on injuries you'd see every day, and the type of mass-casualty event you'll be subjected to." 

Ashley sighed, shaking her head. "What about James? Or Laura? They're both more than capable of taking it on and have been working there a lot longer than I did. I barely had a year."

Pete forced a smile. "We already asked James, he declined it, saying he doesn't want the stress of paperwork or contracts or something. Laura left about three months ago, after her mother... disappeared." He chose his words very carefully, especially now everything was technically under Voldemort's control. They didn't know who might be listening. 

Ashley glanced around, knowing what he was thinking. "If I accept, when would I start? And where would I live? I'm not going back to my old place, that's not happening."

Pete grinned triumphantly. "You could start any time, though I was hoping to be out to South Africa by February. And as for living, you could either take my place, or you could even move into the empty flats above the hospital where Laura used to stay. Does this mean you'll accept?" 

Ashley sighed, resting her forehead on her palm. "Maybe. I don't know. Let me just sort some things out here and I'll write to you before the week is up."

Pleased with her answer, Pete nodded, leaving her to actually get on with her work. She looked up to see one of the doctors staring at her. "Can I help you?"

He shrugged, "who was that?"

Ashley turned away, not sure who this person was or even why they were interested. Strangers in a hospital weren't uncommon, but then again, everyone was suspicious these days. "Someone asking if I'd go back to work for him."

"Oh." He still seemed off, but Ashley ignored it, getting back to her patients. 

It was strange to her that people thought Voldemort would be interested in the hospital, and even if he was, it would be an interest in higher-profile cases, such as the Longbottoms and the like, people he'd put there himself, rather than the mundane cases the majority were handling. St Mungos wasn't a very high-profile place with a lot of influence like the Ministry, or Hogwarts. 

Whatever, she actually had work to be getting on with, even if it was a lot more domestic than what she'd been used to for years.

_

Ashley-Rae hated living alone. She'd always hated it, since that summer she'd spent at Hogwarts when her dad was injured and her mother wasn't home enough to care for her. Being so isolated made her feel... well, isolated.  
So when she'd moved away from her dad to London, she'd got herself a pet. 

Nothing exotic, but the thought of her father being disappointed in her for having something as mundane as a cat made her smile. It was probably not healthy to think that, but she really loved her kitten. 

She made sure she was fed and had water in her bowl, watching her trying to navigate her way around in her tiny body, and relaxed back with a book and a cup of tea, though she couldn't get her mind off going back to Romania. 

It had never really been an option for her before now, and though she quite liked her job here in London, she really did miss the chaos and havoc of... well, Romania. Other places as well, but that involved going back to her father, and under no circumstances was she doing that ever again. 

Maybe she should give it a go. Even with Charlie there, she would be working full time anyway, twelve-hour shifts were a lot (she might look at changing them if she could get any more Healers there) so she probably wouldn't have time to deal with him. Plus, the living arrangement would make it a lot easier for her to avoid a certain conversation that he was so intent on having at the wedding. Maybe she should, just to feel some sort of excitement in her life again. Callia snuggled between her arm and tummy, settling onto her stomach and purring contentedly. 

"What about you, huh? I can't leave you behind. Think you could cope with a move to Romania?" Ashley tickled her under her chin, sighing. She regretted giving herself only until the end of the week to make the decision. 


	34. easy ride

12 January / 13 January 1998

Charlie hadn't stopped trying to figure out if Ashley was to be the new hospital manager. Pete had, so far, refused to divulge any information to anyone other than James regarding if he'd even asked her as Charlie had suggested back in August, never mind if she'd accepted the offer. Charlie was obviously suspicious, figuring the week he'd taken off in September was to see her rather than his family that no one had ever heard about before.   
Sometimes, Charlie's insistence ended in him walking away, disappointed in his lack of information. Mostly, it ended with him being kicked out, disappointed in his lack of information. Whatever he did, Pete refused to share anything to do with the hospital. At this point, Charlie wasn't entirely sure if he was even leaving. So obviously that made him even more determined to find out. 

"Charlie, please, you've been trying for months to get information out of me," Pete sighed, healing a few broken bones, "you've got nowhere so far. What makes you think you're going to succeed today?" 

Abigale grinned, wrapping up a few burns and sending them back out to work.

"Because maybe this time you're tired enough to let something slip."

"Do you really never give up?" She smiled at him from her seat, "and besides, what's with your obsession with this Ashley-Rae?" 

Pete laughed as Charlie froze, looking as though Abi had just stepped on a landmine - which she had, in a sense.

"It's not an obsession, I'd just like to know who to expect once Pete leaves." He turned, narrowing his eyes at him. "If he's leaving at all."

"Charlie, if you are not sick or injured, please get out of my hospital." Pete sighed, sitting back on his chair.

He tried to protest but left very quickly when Pete pulled out his wand.

Pete sighed, shaking his head, refilling his mug with coffee.

"So who is this Ashley-Rae girl? Like, was she Charlie's girlfriend or something?" Abigale joined him.

He smiled softly, knowing why she was really asking. "No. I think he'd have liked her to be, but.. no. They were best friends, though, at one point she was going to move in with him rather than going to Scotland with her dad."

Abi nodded, not saying anything for a while. "Why'd she leave? If she was supposed to move in with Charlie and he liked her so much?"

Pete sighed, eyes trained on the entrance. "She didn't know he liked her. Actually, neither was really aware of the other's feelings, there were very few of us that were aware of it. But her dad got badly injured, and she felt responsible for him, and guilty for not stopping him from getting injured. The guilt ate away at her when he was in here, it wasn't fun to watch." 

Nodding, Abi sipped her tea. From what Pete was saying, she didn't know what anyone at the sanctuary saw ing Ashley-Rae, considering how they all spoke so highly of her And she really didn't know why Charlie was so hung up on her after all this time. But whatever, she wasn't going to compete if there was no hope. There was part of her, however, that hoped that Ashley-Rae didn't come back. Maybe then Charlie would get the message that she didn't like him back, maybe then Abi would have at least a small chance.

-

Pete looked up as he was handing over to James for the night to see Charlie loitering rather gingerly by the front. "Charlie, are you injured?"

"Yeah," he muttered, holding out his arm where they could see multiple bite wounds. "Kiwi decided I was a chew toy." 

James groaned, making Pete laugh as he walked out. "Good look with that one, James."

Charlie tried a smile, but it was very clear that he was in pain.

"Come on, let's see the damage." James sat in the chair by the bed, looking over and healing his arm as best he could. "Now, other injuries? And don't even think of lying to me."

Charlie rolled his eyes, "just a bump to the head."

James glared before checking him out, trying a few tests on him in spite of all of his objections. "Damn it, Charl, you've given yourself a concussion."

"It's just a bump!" Charlie stood, backing away towards the door, "it's minor, nothing to bother you with-" He ran into something, so turned, jumping back as he saw Ashley-Rae staring him down with her arms crossed.

"Sit. Down." 

Grinning, Charlie took a few more steps back. "What, no 'princess' this time?"

Ashley raised an eyebrow, pointing to the bed he'd just vacated, leaving Charlie to sit back down, a mix of emotions bubbling inside him. 

laughing, James walked over and greeted her, "so, you're my new boss. How've you been?"

"Please don't call me boss, I swear I'm younger than you. And I've been decent, finally escaped the clutches of my father. How have you been, holding up here ok?" 

James shrugged, "better when Charlie was at his brother's wedding. Even stayed at home for a few days after they got attacked, which is not like him at all."

Ashley laughed, "you can thank me for that later."

"I'm right here guys!" Charlie complained, making the two Healers laugh.

"Sorry Charl. Anyway, I'm gonna crash on one of the beds at the back. Mind waking me a half hour before your shift ends?" 

James nodded, turning back to give her a strange look as he saw her hood moving. "What on earth-"

"Oh," Ash reached back, a tiny paid or paws reaching out and latching onto her sleeve, "this is Callia. I didn't like living by myself so I got her a few months ago, in early September."

James softened completely as he saw the kitten, asking really gently to hold her.

Ashley smiled, handing her over. "she can hang out with you for a while if you like, if things get busy just put her back with me, she'll settle."

James smiled at Ashley, cradling Callia.

She closed the curtains around a bed, laying down, sleep takin over almost immediately after her journey. But all too soon, James was waking her up again with a cup of coffee made how she'd always liked it. "Thank you." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. 

"Come on, you can showing in the back or change in the office." 

Ashley nodded, trying not to burn her tongue on the coffee she was gulping down. She grabbed a few clothes out of her bag, a towel and went to the showers. 

James stood to the back, watching as they'd just passed the shift change for most trainers and often those with minor injuries waited until the end of their shift to come through. It was good to have Ashley back, though. He hadn't worked with her too much, but he'd seen her work on her dad as often as he came through the hospital, often late at night, so they'd had a fair relationship due to that. James was definitely surprised when she'd gone with him to Scotland after everything he'd seen of their toxic relationship.

"Ok, that feels a lot better." She spoke from behind him, tying her hair now shoulder-length, mostly blonde hair back from her face.   
James was still trying to get over the hair. 

"Does Pete know you're coming today"?

Ashley shook her head. "he knows I'm coming this week, but I didn't know when I'd make it so I couldn't give him a solid date. So I guess I'll be sort of a surprise to him." 

James sighed with a smile. 

"So, tell me about the new Healer, what's her name, Abigale?"

He glanced at her before sitting down, watching Charlie getting bored at the front. "Yeah. She's good, sort of the average we get in here. Pete and I think she has a thing for Charlie." 

Ashley laughed, "what does Charlie think?"

James studied her expression before turning away with a slight smile. "He's not noticed, we don't think. He's a lot more oblivious than he'd probably like to admit. Oh, here's Pete." 

Ashley stood properly, pushing herself off the wall where she'd been leaning, grinning as she saw Pete walking in, shaking his head at Charlie.  
"Wondered when you were going to show up," Ashley called to him, making Pete turn to her in surprise.

"Ashley-Rae."

"As you live and breathe." She laughed as he walked over, and returned the hug. "It's good to see you." 

He grinned, giving her a tight hug, "you too. Ready to take over all of this?"

Ashley took a deep breath. "Yeah. But if anyone calls me their boss," she gave a pointed look to James who simply shrugged with a small smile, "I'm making their life hell."

James laughed. "I'm off to bed. I'll see you later, Ash." 

She nodded with a smile as he left. "So, when do I get to meet Abi?" 

"Um... maybe a minute? She's usually slightly early for her shifts." Pete grinned, "unlike you."

"I was early occasionally!" Ashley tried to hide her smile. 

Pete scoffed, "yeah, when you were working here during the night as well."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "most I was late was five minutes."

Pete hummed, smiling as a smaller girl walked through the door, eyes landing immediately on Charlie.

"You stayed here overnight? Who managed to get you to stay here for so long?" She laughed.

Charlie looked a little embarrassed. 

"Abi, this is Ashley-Rae," Pete said, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a wide grin. 

Abi stared, and it seemed as though all her blood drained out of her face. "Oh, um, hi." She smiled briefly. "So you're the new boss, huh?" 

"Oh, Merlin-" Ashley sighed in frustration, walking away as Pete burst out laughing.

Abi looked between eh two, "did- did I say something wrong?"

Pete shook his head still laughing.

Charlie looked amused, looking at where Ashley was having some sort of internal struggle with whatever Abigale had said. 

"I'm twenty-two! Merlin's pants, I'm too young to be a boss."

"You-you're only twenty-two? but didn't you work here like two years ago? You wouldn't have even had your qualifications." 

Ashley sighed, defeated by the fact she'd have to explain it all again. 

"She graduated early," Charlie spoke up, "from Hogwarts and as a Healer. Due to all her experience and the fact she was practicing constantly, she graduated in... what was it, Ash?"

Ashley's gaze softened as she looked at Charlie, "a little over a year and a half. Just after I turned nineteen."

Charlie smiled, eyes shining.

"Oh." Abi still looked as though she wasn't sure what to do. 

Ashley sighed internally. Well, this was definitely not going to be an easy ride.


	35. Abigale

13 January

Even after meeting the legend that was Ashley-Rae Hunt, Abigale didn't understand what the hype was about; she just seemed like a regular woman, with the only thing special about her being that she peaked in school. And yet, Charlie seemed so entirely obsessed with her, it was unbelievable, not to mention the weird power trip she got from calling him 'princess'. that was just weird, and Abigale didn't understand why he took it. Plus, the fact that she was two years younger than herself would be a bit difficult to get over, especially considering Ashley was going to be her boss. 

But whatever, she had a job to do, and she wasn't going to let Ashley-Rae get in the way of that, regardless of whether she was in charge or not. 

She checked over Charlie, administering some more tests and treatment, though he was ok to go home and stay out of trouble, so she sent him off with strict instructions and sat back on a chair waiting for the next round of people. It was a fairly quiet morning, though it was freezing and Abigale regretted not wearing a jacket. 

"Hey." Ashley took a chair and sat beside her. 

"Hi."

Ashley smiled slightly. "I know it's going to be a bit weird, me becoming your... boss," Abi smiled as it clearly pained Ashley to say that, "considering we've never met before today. So I just wanted to come and talk to you, ask what your concerns are about this change in leadership or whatever, see what I can do to help."

Abigale looked at her, cautious of the proposal. It wasn't that she didn't trust Ashley-Rae, but she was a little apprehensive of her leadership skills. "Are you planning on changing the way we work and how it's run?" 

"I've been thinking it over with Pete, and the answer is probably, yes. But I'm not going to be making any big changes without consulting you and James first, so at least for now, things will remain the same."

"What changes were you thinking?" Abi asked, sort of curious now. If Ashley was thinking of making changes further down the line, it was probably better to get ahead with it. 

Ashley shrugged, "staffing, shifts, that sort of thing to make it easier for us."

Abi didn't trust that.

"Anyway, tea? Coffee? A blanket? You look frozen." 

She refrained from rolling her eyes, "coffee, black."

Ashley nodded, making her way to the office where the kettle was.

But Abigale still didn't know what people saw in her to put her on a pedestal. Sure, she was fairly nice but nothing to write home about, and she just seemed... disappointingly mediocre. 

"So I sort of..." 

She looked up to see Charlie limping over to a bed already. "I gave you instructions not to go out there. You have a concussion!" She scolded, getting to work on Charle.

"Yeah, well, you're going to be run off your feet in about- oh, now." Abigale turned as he spoke, watching people trailing in, being carried in, you name it, until every bed and all the chairs were taken. 

"What in the name-"

Ashley suddenly appeared, triaging and directing people to different places if they could walk, making sure everyone had something for their pain, and getting to work.   
For about thirty seconds, Abi was completely transfixed with watching her work; it was like she was a robot, treating people and admitting those who couldn't be cleared, moving through patients at an alarming rate. Pete of course, jumped in, and then her trance was broken, and Abi got to work on those who were next in line. It was strange, having Ashley-Rae working there, and in a way, it put her off her game slightly. But eventually, Abigale got back to Charlie, who was lying back and watching them all work, or at least Ashley. Pete placed a mug down on the side near Abi, saying something about Ashley making her coffee, but she wasn't paying much attention. 

"You seem distracted," Charlie commented, shifting focus back to her. "Are you ok?"

Abi sighed, nodding. "Yeah, just getting used to the way she works, I guess." 

Charlie shrugged, "it's not the usual way of working, but it works. How are you feeling about it?"

Abi glanced at him, wondering for a split second if it was so obvious she didn't like her. "Neutral, really. I don't know what you see in her." She shook her head, wrapping up his ankle so it wouldn't dislocate again. 

"What do you mean?" He asked, sitting back into the pillows. 

"You-" She stopped herself. "Everyone has sort of put her on this pedestal, made her seem like the crown jewels or something, and I can't see why. She's just a girl, I really don't understand why you're so infatuated with her."

Charlie was quiet for a few moments. "We don't put her on a pedestal, exactly, but... She's a good person, and incredible at what she does. She's kind and caring and loving, and she won't let anyone get in the way of what she wants. There was a time that wasn't true, but it is now. She changed a lot about the sanctuary, mostly indirectly. We all sort of just... gravitated towards her, the hospital got a lot more efficient while she was here, and it was just all-round a lot better working here while she was here."

Abi remained silent. 

"Maybe you don't see it yet, you've known each other for what, a few hours? But you'll see. And I doubt you'll even notice she's your boss, she's not really that type." Charlie shrugged. "Can I go?"

Considering, Abi sent him home with crutches, making him swear he wouldn't go back out to work.

"Ok, can you hold up here for about an hour?" Pete asked her, and she nodded. "I'm just going to help Ashley move in upstairs."  
The two disappeared out of the backdoor, to where Abigale could only assume the entrance to the upstairs flat was, leaving bai with her thoughts and the hospital, along with the nine patients they'd admitted from the mass-casualty when one of the dragons decided to get too close to the ridge. 

It wasn't much work, making sure they all had food and were comfortable, as they mostly kept each other company, discussing whatever. Abi wasn't bothered, didn't really pay much attention to what they were saying, more concerned with thinking over what Ashley had spoken to her about.   
Staffing and shift changes would be interesting, she just hoped she didn't have to work with Ashley too much. She didn't entirely disagree with what Charlie had said earlier, but she didn't fully agree either; she was nice, sure, but watching her work, it hadn't seemed like she was as caring as maybe Charlie had thought. Maybe he'd made it up?   
Or, and Abigale hated to think it, but Pete had said so himself even, maybe Ashley had liked him as more than a friend and had given him special treatment. It would explain why he had such a different view of her than she did, but it didn't explain why James liked her so much, nor Pete, and she felt nearly one-hundred per cent sure that they'd give her similar views on Ashley if asked. Sighing, she decided to think about it later, after her shift and got up as a few more injured trainers came through.


	36. changes

23rd January

Ashley didn't know if she'd ever have been ready for what was about to ensue, but it was better now than too late. The three of them (Pete had left two days after she'd arrived) were all in the hospital that afternoon after James had been sleeping all morning and Ashley had had so much coffee it felt as though everything was slightly disjointed, waiting for the five new Healers that Ashley had taken on. How she'd found it in her budget to hire them all, neither Abi nor James knew, though James at least had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the Order. He'd joined as soon as Charlie had approached him, as had Pete and Laura, though he didn't know if Abi knew about it, so he hadn't asked. 

Soon enough, a group of people all chatting away filed through, each with their own medical bag, stethoscope, and a few even wearing scrubs from their old hospitals, piling their luggage that they'd brought with them near the door out of the way.

Ashley walked forward with a grin on her face, greeting every single one, and James rolled his eyes at himself for not realising what was so obvious to him.  
"So, these are my current healers, and as in every hospital you've all worked in, there's a pecking order. These two, as well as me, we're at the top. If I'm unavailable, you go to James, if for some reason the two of us are out of reach, next in line is Abigale. At all times one of us will be reachable, so there are no excuses. We all know what this arrangement is, and I expect every one of you to honour Dumbledore with your work today." 

There was a general mumble of agreement, and Ashley took over once again, going through the schedule that she hadn't even shown to Abi or James, though she'd spoken with them previously about changing the length of shifts. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that nearly all of his shifts were with Ashley and that he even had a full day off. Abi seemed reasonably impressed with it, though James suspected that it was secretly because she had two days off instead of one like most people, and had fewer shifts than most other full-time Healers. The American, Dominic? James couldn't remember, but he was only part-time, with four shifts through the week, and Izzy, the red-haired Scot had even less at only three shifts. 

He noticed he had the rest of the day off, his next shift being at three pm the next day. He sat back, waiting for Ashley to come back to the office for more coffee after giving a tour to the newbies, and smiled as she complained about there not being enough coffee. "When were you going to tell me what your actual role in the Order is?"

Ashley barely spared him a glance, but he could tell she was trying to figure out what to say. "It's not something you can just casually say, and when I told you I was in the Order I just sort of... well, I didn't say anything, and after that, it just sounded a little too much like I was bragging." 

James rolled his eyes. "Head of the Healers in the Order fo the Phoenix. When Dumbledore said we'd be having contact with our boss when we were needed, I never imagined to meet you so soon!"

Hitting his arm lightly, she sat on the desk he was leaning against, looking out as the Healers all talked and milled around the hospital, dispersing slowly to their homes, most of whom shared. "Thanks for letting Jace move in with you." 

James shrugged, "I've got a spare room that no one's using, and he seems like a chill dude." He nodded to where he was trying o find a space for his bag in the cubbies. "We might need to build some more." 

Ash shrugged, "I'll do it after my shift."

"Hey, what's with your double, graveyard shift on Sunday and the morning shift on Monday? After a morning shift on Sunday as well? Are you trying to kill yourself?" He asked, suddenly noticing what she'd done on the schedule. 

Cringing, she turned to him with a face that told him she'd been caught out. "Well, you see, I was sort of hoping that maybe in that in the Monday shift I could get my paperwork done for the week and then leave you in charge?"

James fought a smile.

"I'm like right upstairs anyway, I'm super close so you can come and get me in the event of a mass-casualty?"

James grinned, nodding, "sure. I was worried for a second you were just giving yourself all of the misplaced shifts. Or avoiding people."

Ashley rolled her eyes but secretly hoping he wouldn't see through her and realise that's pretty much exactly what she was doing. Or, well, avoiding Charlie, not just people, but she knew that's what he'd meant. 

"I'll see you later Ash." He waved, nodding to Jace as he left to get some lunch and go back to bed. 

"He's who I'm staying with?" Jace asked. "He seems cool." He replied as she nodded. "I don't know who Pete is, but I've put my things in his cubby, for now, I couldn't find one with enough room." 

"Ah, he doesn't work here anymore, I'll build some more after our shift." She mentioned, sitting back with her now lukewarm coffee. "How've things been in America since you got back?" The two had been pretty good friends when they'd met, first in Australia, and then again in Spain, as he'd arrived in the same area as her and her father to work in a sanctuary hospital. In spite of their six-year age gap, they got on like a house on fire, and he'd been the only person she'd kept in touch with through all of her travels as nothing more than a friend. It was nice to have him there to talk to in person, rather than an entire ocean away.

He shrugged, "not bad, you know. Work was very demanding though, with the lack of funding, the other two hospitals in our area closed down, so we had a massive intake suddenly. I was grateful when you offered this job."

Ashley nodded with a grimace, "I will never understand the American healthcare system. Or lack of it."

"So, tell me about Charlie. How's he been since you got back here?"


	37. A dragon tamer's heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credits for this chapter go to my lovely wonderful friend Sarah who let me rant to her about my shitty relationship and then wrote this chapter for me because I found it too difficult to write myself because of the aforementioned shitty relationship. She's an incredibly talented writer (though our styles vary a bit so it may sound a little different to how I write) and I thank her a million times over for writing this for me.

9th February

Charlie knew he needed to talk to Ashley. He just couldn’t find the words to say. He knew he wanted to tell her he was in love with her, but there wasn’t a good way to say it. He wasn’t the sappy, romantic kind of guy. He was always the dragon guy, but now he couldn’t help but be in love with the girl who would put up with his dragons. She even loved them in her own way. So how could he tell her? 

It is because of his lack of romantic intuition, that he found himself pretending to confess his love for Ashley when in reality, he was talking to James, who was wearing a towel for a wig. 

“Come on man, you need more passion. “ James encouraged, hoping to get the two most oblivious people in the world to realize they both loved each other. The wig was just a bonus, he liked the way it felt on his hair. “Tell me you love me,” he continued in a high falsetto, clearly attempting to sound like Ashley and ultimately, failing miserably.

“I don’t know, James. At Bill’s wedding, when I tried to bring it up, she did not want to talk about it. She wouldn’t even let me say the word ‘letter’ without interrupting.” Charlie complained. 

“Look, I know you want your knight in shining armour, but at some point, the princess needs to fight for her knight too,” James stated, gaining a confused look from Charlie. 

“What? Okay, that’s what Pete and I figured her nickname should be, since you’re always getting hurt and she keeps you from dying and calls you princess- It makes sense!” He defended but Charlie ignored him and just sat back in his chair. His head rested in his hands and he couldn’t help but just wonder, where did I go wrong? He knew where, and that’s when he leapt to his feet and left the hospital, thanking James for his help. 

“What was pretty boy doing, James?” Taylor asked, peering into the office of the hospital. 

“Figuring out how to confess his love for a knight.” James teased before looking down at the paperwork in front of him.

“Is Ashley coming in today?” She wondered, noticing James’ dismay for the paperwork. His eyes brightened as he nodded before taking off the towel and exiting the office, Taylor in pursuit. 

“I can’t believe she didn’t finish the paperwork,” Abi complained to Taylor as the two of them tended to the few dragon tamers in the hospital. 

“Well, she did just finish moving in, Abi, and I don’t know, she seems nice to me. A lot nicer than my old boss who would shout at everyone but watch the girls in a creepy stalker way.” Taylor responded, writing down the vitals of the patient. 

“Well, any boss is better than that, Tay. But have you seen how she avoids people, it’s like she doesn’t even want to help them.” Abi persisted. She did not like this girl, especially since she hadn’t seen her work since that one time the hospital was flooded with patients. 

“Abi, you know she’s only avoiding one person. You’re just jealous. She’s nice, hardworking, and gave me a job. I’m not too picky about how she avoids Charlie. Plus, it makes our days interesting.” Taylor added, she herself loved the gossip, but Abi was beginning to get on her nerves. Ashley hadn’t done anything wrong in her mind and Abi just didn’t like that someone else had a guy’s attention. 

“We work at a dragon sanctuary! Our days are already interesting!” Abi growled. 

“Well, maybe you should do something about Charlie if this makes you that mad!” Taylor argued finally leaving Abi alone. She walked out of the patients' room and down to the office where she saw Ashley enter. 

“Hey, Miss Ashley?” Taylor knocked on the frame before leaning in the room. 

“Hey Taylor, oh and drop the Miss. We’re the same age, you know.” 

Taylor’s blushed before thinking about how rude Abi had been. “I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help? I already checked the patients’ vitals upstairs and recorded them. I know James left you a massive pile of paperwork. I could help you, if you’d like?”

Ashley smiled. “I’d like that very much. Thank you, Taylor.” The girl sat down and together they began to make their way through the paperwork. 

Charlie was being pulled into the hospital against his will with James wheeling him in when the girls finally left the office. 

“Oh, well, James make sure he gets treated. “ Ashley stated before turning to leave. James declined, before going back to the entrance where a few others were waiting. 

“Abi, Taylor, you two come with me and let’s go get the others at the entrance.” He grabbed medical supplies and the two girls followed him out, Abi grudgingly. 

“Hey, Ash.” Charlie started but was cut off by her grabbing medical supplies and shushing him. She examined him before finding that his sock had been burned off, bubbles already forming on the skin. 

“What were you doing this time?” She couldn’t help but wonder aloud. 

“What? No ‘shut up princess'?” He joked before receiving a glare. 

“I’m inviting you to speak, do you want to? Or not?” She pulled his leg up a little bit, stacking pillows under it before grabbing the burn balm. 

“Small pesky dragons really like my socks. Mango’s gotten big enough to be in with the other dragons but still rather small.” He explained, expecting a stern expression. Instead, she gained a soft smile as she thought about the memories with Mango while treating his ankle. He had a feeling this would be the best time to talk about what had happened between them before she lost her good mood. “Remember how many times you used to come over a day? Mango used to curl up next to you when you fell asleep on the couch from long shifts. “ He had moved to sit up and brushed a hair out of her face. 

“I remember. “ Her expression hardened. She finished wrapping his ankle before leaving the room.

Charlie had to do something. “No, wait!” He called, but she didn’t respond. So, being rational as ever, he stood on his hurt ankle and in an act of love, promptly fell to the ground. 

She rushed back and helped him lean back on the bed, before getting him to lay down, pain preventing him from speaking.

Once it passed, she had begun to walk out of the room again. 

“Ashley, what did I ever do to you?” Luckily he was in the farthest bed so she had a while before fully exiting the room. His question made her stop twenty feet away before she ignored him and kept walking. “Why do you shut me out? Why did you shut everyone out? What are you so afraid of?” Ashley got to the door, barely able to hide the tears from him. She twisted the handle as he asked, “Why won’t you say you love me like you did?” 

He barely heard her whisper and before he could respond, she was gone. Her words on repeat in his mind. 

“Because that hurt too much.”


	38. conspiracies over coffee

11 February

Jace knew James was good friends with both Charlie and Ashley, though it was clear he was getting tired of how Ashley was behaving towards Charlie. Which was strange, considering James probably knew she had every right to treat his as she did after what he'd done. Not that either Ashley or Jace held it against him for not liking Ashley as she'd liked him, (and still did in Jace's opinion, but that was another matter) but for never replying or bothering to respond to her letter spelling out her feelings for him. That, in Jace's opinion, wasn't something he could easily forgive, and definitely something that needed a flawless explanation.  
But James seemed to be just as infuriated with Charlie as he was with Ashley when he walked in dripping blood from his ears in the middle of their shift. 

Jace allowed James to care for him, admitting him to a bed for a few hours for observation before he pulled him a chair next to his own, giving him a questioning look. 

James sighed as he sat next to Jace. "You're friends with Ash, right? Like pretty close?"  
Jace nodded.  
"Is she completely oblivious or a masochist?"

Blinking, he tripped over his words for a few seconds. "Um, I-, what, just- I- No? What?" 

James stared before realising that Jace had no idea what he was talking about. "I'm talking in regards to Charlie? Does she enjoy hurting herself emotionally over it all? Is that why she won't let him talk to her about what happened?" 

"She doesn't want it to hurt even more if she does talk to him about it. In fairness, he was sort of a dick."

"If you're talking about the letter, then yeah, ok, but now Ashley's the one behaving like a dick."

Jace gave him a strange look, "how? Charlie keeps trying to bring it up and hurt her all over again and that's not fair."

"So-" looking taken aback, he fell silent for a few seconds. "So Ashley really has no idea? Wow. Charlie's not trying to hurt her, he's trying - admittedly very badly - to tell her he loves her." 

It took a few moments for him to understand what James had just said, but when it registered everything fell into place. "Oh- oh. Well, Holy Moses- this is a bit of a mess." He sighed, "and considering she won't admit she still loves him, that just makes it worse."

"Won't admit or doesn't know?"

"Both." 

They both sighed.

"I'm going out with her, to the town, after our shift, maybe I can talk to her about it." Jace shrugged. "But it's Ashley-Rae, so no promises on what happens."

James grimaced, waving goodbye to Charlie as he walked out, having completed his hours in observation. "There's more." He nodded to where Abi had already cornered Charlie as he was trying to escape the hospital, "Abi also likes Charlie."

Jace watched, rolling his eyes at Abi. He had a few shifts with her, and had come to the conclusion that she definitely sometimes needed a reality check, especially when it came to her own sense of self. "What does Charlie think about that?" 

"He has no idea. You really think he'd notice?"

"If anyone acted like that around me, I'd have my suspicions." 

James rolled his eyes, bumping his shoulder into Jace's. "Yeah, but with Charlie so entirely in love with Ash, it won't take anything less than Abi declaring her undying love for him for him to notice." 

Jace chuckled, imagining the scene she'd make. "I would absolutely not recommend she do that, but I would like to see how it plays out. But, let me guess, she knows he wants Ashley, she thinks he's too good for Ashley, and that she herself would be a better fit. How close am I?" 

"Like... dead on, I'd say."   
They laughed, causing Abi to look over with a questioning look. 

"We'll hand over once Dominic gets here, Abi's always early. I have a sneaky suspicion she's early in case Charlie's in the hospital."

"By the way she reacted when she did see him, I would fully agree with you." 

-

Ashley hadn't planned on taking Jace to the shop with the strange owner, but once she'd mentioned it, there was no stopping him.   
"Jace, no, seriously, she might not even work there anymore!" She protested, trying to reason with him. Or, at least, give him reasons not to go. 

"No harm in checking. Besides, that red jumper you bought from her is really nice and I want one." 

Ashley raised an eyebrow, "you want to wear the same things as me?"

Jace laughed, "no, I just want a nice jumper like that. Isn't it, like, charmed to keep you warm or something?" 

Nodding, she sighed in defeat. "Yeah, most things in her shop are somewhat charmed."

He grinned, turning to her and saying, "I promise to be good," before opening the door to the shop and leading her in. 

It was nearly exactly the same as Ashley remembered it, though the jewellery stand had moved near a wall, and the stock had obviously changed. At the ring of the bell, the same woman appeared out of the backroom, though she stopped dead as soon as she saw Ashle again. Ashley pretended not to notice, though Jace raised an eyebrow before turning away, checking out everything on the rails. 

"Are you ok? Can I help you with anything?" She asked, and though her accent differed from what Ashley remembered, it was still noticeably English, rather than Romanian. 

Jace shook his head, "no thanks, just having a look." 

The two wandered around, and Jace found a few things he liked. There was something definitely strange about how the woman had reacted upon seeing Ashley-Rae, there was no denying it, though he'd promised her he'd be good so he didn't ask her what it was about. He had a few theories, but pushed them to the back of his mind until he could address them with her later. There was no point saying them in from of the very woman he was going to be talking about.   
He quickly paid, and they left, heading for the small coffee shop across the street, taking a table and ordering each a coffee and cake. 

"I told you she acted weird around me." Ashley sighed, leaning back in the booth. "I swear to you, I've never seen her before, either!" 

Jace laughed quietly, thanking the barista as she brought over their order. "It was rather strange. Though, I think she might know you. Or, maybe your parents?"

Ashley gave him a warning look. "I don't look like my father." 

"I didn't mean him." 

Silence. 

"I don't know. I don't remember much of my mother, you know that." 

Jace shrugged, before giving her an evil grin, "maybe she is your mother." 

That made Ashley laugh. "I think I'd recognise my own mother."

Jace looked at her over the rim of his coffee cup as he took a sip. "How old were you even, when she left?"

She didn't answer for a while, and anyone else would have been worried about overstepping, but Jace knew better, knew she was trying to remember. "Eight, I think. Or nine." She smiled softly, "before Hogwarts. She might have liked to stay, had she known I was in her house."

He didn't respond. 

"But, whatever," she shook her head, regaining her composure, "I'm sure I'd recognise her, even after fourteen years."

Jace didn't look convinced. "Hmm. Regardless, she definitely recognises you from somewhere, or you remind her of someone. Both are high probabilities." 

Ashley rolled her eyes.

"Onto Charlie."

"No." 

Jace gave her a hard look. "Yes. I'm curious! You know Abi likes him, right?"

Ashley grinned, "how could anyone miss it? All she does is fawn over him, talk about him, honestly, it makes me want to gouge my eyes out."

He laughed, but agreed with her statement, shuddering as he thought about the scene he'd been witness to earlier that afternoon. "Would it bother you if they dated?"

Ashley paused, before shaking her head. "No. I mean, I'd be annoyed that Abigale would be even more distracted, but why else would it bother me?"

Rolling his eyes, he finished off his cake to give himself a little more time to think. "Because of everything that's happened. And the fact that he's not let it go."

"Do you think you could get him to drop it? Like seriously?"

"Probably not, James has already tried." He lied easily, though he didn't feel great about it. Lying to Ashley wasn't something he wanted to do, but he didn't really have much choice. 

Ashley didn't seem impressed but didn't try and force it. "Does James even know what's going on?"

"James knew more than I did."

"What does that mean?"

Jace paused, trying to figure out how to get himself out of the hole he'd just dug himself into. "I didn't realise exactly what was going on, like Abi liking him, that was something I learned today."

"You mean you didn't know from your shifts together?" Ashley laughed as she finished her coffee. "Does she not talk about him constantly with you?"

He grimaced. "I won't lie, I spend most of my shifts wither avoiding her. She's sort of full of herself, in a weird way. Like, she doesn't think she's better than everyone, just better than... some people."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "you mean me." She took his silence as a 'yes'. "I know where a lot of that comes from, probably because she thinks Charlie, James, and Pete all thought too much of me. Which I don't disagree with, but also, I'm damn good at what I do, and I'm better than she is. I can at least stay focused on my patients rather than hanging onto some guy's every word."

"Some guy?" Jace hid a grin as she glared at him. "He wasn't always just 'some guy' to you."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, hiding her own smile, "and now he is. After completely ignoring me for nine months, he should be happy he doesn't get something a lot worse than 'some guy'."


	39. chaos and mania

22 February

Today had to be completely perfect for Abigale, it all had to go exactly to plan. She'd had her outfit picked out for a week, and her words chosen for hours, and of course, she'd prepared a whole speech to convince Charlie that Ashley-bloody-Rae really didn't like him after her shift that day Taylor had accidentally given her the idea. Really, she was surprised Charlie didn't know already that Ashley didn't like him back by the way she constantly treated him - or, more accurately, didn't treat him. Abi just didn't know why he let her do that to him, it wasn't fair on her or Charlie. 'Her' of course being Abigale.   
She really couldn't care less for Ashley, and she hadn't failed to notice either how Ashley hadn't scheduled them to ever work together. And even then, it was a little obvious that Ashley was avoiding her on shift anyway, considering she was hardly ever out the front when Abi turned up, and if she was, she let James or Jace hand over rather than doing it herself, walking to the office and shutting herself in until the end of her shift, or even just leaving early through the back. Abi didn't know what to do about that, though she didn't want to do anything it might look bad if she didn't at least try just once to figure out what her issue with Abi was. 

Abi dressed, making sure her hair and makeup were perfect, before grabbing some toast for brunch. She loved having two days off. They weren't consecutive, but she couldn't complain really, considering she got to lie in more after working the 11 pm-7 am shift. And seeing as she shared one of her days off with Charlie, she really couldn't complain, even if she didn't spend as much time - if any - with him as she'd like. She blamed Ashley.

She checked the time, knowing Charlie would probably be out with the new baby dragon he'd adopted, so she made double sure her makeup was perfect before stepping out, locking her door and breathing in the cold air. she didn't feel the cold, not really, considering she was used to dressing in crop tops and leggings half the time. It's what she felt comfortable in, so really, why not? But she was definitely grateful for the denim jacket.

Finding Charlie wasn't difficult, considering she knew his routine inside and out by now, but even then all she really had to do was follow the noise of him yelling at the dragon that was probably misbehaving or hurting him again - both were highly probable given the amount of time Charlie had to go to the hospital because of injuries from the baby dragons. She didn't know why he did it when they always hurt him, and there was no way she was ever going to let them do that to her, but if he liked them then she couldn't do much about that. 

Yet.

Abi took a breath, going over it all one more time before catching up and grabbing Charlie's attention. "Hey! Are they behaving today?" She smiled at him, making sure he couldn't escape the conversation before she told him how she felt about him. 

Charlie smiled, though it was more out of politeness than anything. "Kiwi is behaving, Loco, not so much."

She giggled a little, though didn't really know how to respond to that; dragons weren't entirely her strong suit. "I was wondering if we could talk?" 

Charlie shrugged, "sure, walk with me."

Relieved that he hadn't shut her down, she fell into step beside him, almost too close to him, but making sure the two baby dragons - that were the height of her waist now, so could hardly be classed as babies - kept well away from her. "I was wondering if you were doing anything later today? Like this evening maybe?" 

Charlie shrugged again. "Not really, just taking care of these two." He watched them running off before calling them back when they went too far. 

"Well, would you like to go for dinner somewhere? My treat."  
Abi could immediately see his surprise, the way he paused, mid-step, before carrying on, though his eyes hid no secrets. She wasn't particularly surprised he hadn't realised she liked him, though a little annoyed at his complete fixation on Ashley. 

"As in like... a date?" He sounded hesitant, though it didn't waver her confidence that she could make him come around. 

"Yeah, there's a really nice restaurant in the town, it's not too far, I think you'd like it." She smiled, keeping it light, pretending not to notice his hesitation. She'd talk him past it. 

Charlie fell silent for a beat. "Abi, you're great, really, you're talented and pretty, and driven, but I just like you as a friend." 

Abigale didn't lose confidence or hope; she'd prepared for this. "You mean, you like Ashley." He started to answer, but she didn't want to hear it. "With the way she treats you, I can't believe she could like you back."

"She loved me." He looked hopeful, just a smidge. 

Abi noticed it, knowing that in order to have a chance she needed to get rid of that hope. "Past tense, Charl. She doesn't love you, not anymore. With the way she treats you, that's not even friendly behaviours, she can barely stand to look at you, and you think there's hope in that? Really? She treats you like gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe, taking you for granted, and it's not fair on you. Are you really so blind that you haven't noticed her palming you off to every other healer in close proximity? Or slacking on work, going home early, just to avoid you?" She could see the hurt in his face, so she leaned into him. "I'm sorry, I know how hurt you must be. I'll take you to dinner, we can-"

"Really?" Charlie said quietly. 

Abi stopped, not really knowing what was happening. "What?"

He stepped away from her, looking stunned. "You actually, genuinely think I'd go to dinner with you after you've just tried to completely destroy me? You've just stood there and torn down every last shred of hope I had left, and you expect me to now go to dinner with you?" 

Abi tried to find the words but her mind was completely blank. 

"I don't just like Ashley-Rae. I'm in love with her, and I have been for well over a year, nothing is going to change that any time soon. And if I do eventually have to get over her, I won't be doing it with you. You clearly have no respect for anyone, least of all yourself, if you think the only way you can get someone is by tearing other people down." He looked disgusted with her actions, not saying anything further before walking away with the two dragons, leaving Abigale there feeling very sorry for herself and angry at everything that had just happened. 

Though, this time she seemed to have it right and was angry at herself for ever thinking she could do anything like that and have it work. And she was also angry that she'd ever allowed herself to blame anyone else for her misfortunes; Charlie was right, she realised, she really couldn't have much self-respect if she was willing to destroy Ashley-Rae in his eyes, and in the process, Charlie. 

She stared at the hospital in the distance, seeing Taylor helping someone through the hospital doors. Maybe she was better suited elsewhere? Abi had done so much damage to herself here, she needed to bring herself back up, and she didn't think that was possible around the people who'd witnessed everything she'd put not only herself but everyone around her through.   
And Ashley-Rae...

Abigale knew she owed her an apology. The way she'd treated her, the way she'd hated her just because Charlie liked her, found fault in everything she did, was despicable, and Abi should be above that behaviour by now. Except clearly, she wasn't. So she really needed to take a step back, re-evaluate her actions and become better. 

She decided to talk to Ashley-Rae about maybe transferring out of the sanctuary to anywhere else. Maybe she'd ask if Pete would be willing to take her on in South Africa. 

She checked her watch, sighing as she realised Ashley would possibly still be sleeping considering it was barely two hours after her last shift had ended, but maybe James would still be up and about. She knew he shared a place with Jace, though sometimes he'd spend time at Ashley's if he was doing paperwork, rather than hang about in the office, especially after a morning shift, so she tried her luck, walking around to the back of the building to the door at the back that led up to the apartment inside. There was a staircase inside the hospital as well, through a usually locked door in the back of the office, which Ashley used most often, but Abigale didn't feel like walking through the hospital to it, so she used the back way. 

She rang the bell, waiting for only thirty seconds before Ashley opened the door looking very confused. 

"Oh! Abi!" She smiled, relaxing a little. "I thought you might be... well I don't know, James and Jace are both upstairs, so I was confused. Anyway, what can I do for you?" 

"Oh, um..." She lost her nerve, not really knowing what to say now.

Ash looked concerned. "Was it something private? I have an office upstairs we can use, it's got soundproofing charms around it, so they won't hear what we're talking about." 

Abi stammered for a few seconds before Ashley spoke up again. 

"Tell you what, come in here." She held the door open for her, leading her up the stairs and around, passing the door to her living areas and through to a back room that even Ashley hadn't known existed until one sleepless night she'd accidentally walked into it trying to find the door leading down to the hospital back when she didn't know where anything was. "Ok," she flicked the lights on to reveal a room full of beanbags and chairs and boxes sort of placed in a semi-organised manner, "sit, and tell me what's going on."

So Abigale did, starting from the beginning, essentially giving her boss a very thorough walkthrough of everything that had been going on in her mind since she'd arrived there, and then after Ashley, right through to the events that went down a little over five minutes ago. Though, of course, she committed the actual word-for-word between herself and Charlie, because she had several feelings that Ashley wasn't aware of Charlie's feelings towards her, even though they were blindingly obvious, and it wasn't her place to tell her. She'd leave that fun to Charlie himself. 

Ashley sat back, looking a little overwhelmed with everything that she'd just been told. 

"So, I was thinking maybe you could transfer me somewhere where maybe no one really.... Where I could grow from this without being in the same environment that caused me to behave like this. Or..." She started falling over her words, not knowing how to put her thoughts out in a coherent way. 

Ashley placed a hand on her shoulder, though she had to lean forward a fair way because of the box between them. Abi wondered momentarily where they all came from considering they were all witches and wizards and used the undetectable extension charm for moving or things of the sort. but the thought was gone again in under a second as Ashley spoke.  
"I can see about transferring you wherever you want to go. Was there anywhere you had in mind?" 

Abigale relaxed. "I thought maybe Pete, over in South Africa? But I'm absolutely ok with anywhere that creates an environment like this."

"With the chaos and mania?" 

"With the chaos and mania," Abigale confirmed with a smile.


	40. not quite

26 February

Ashley-Rae had hated many things in her life: carrots, first years, exams, her father, to name only a few. But one thing she hated above all others, was being wrong. 

As anyone who knew her would tell you, Ashley-Rae was hardly ever wrong, most likely due to the fact that whenever she was engaged in a debate on any topic, she would dutifully educate herself on it first, researching everything she could find on it. Sometimes, she'd even research topics just for light conversations. Ashley hated being wrong.   
But there aren't many books in her own feelings, and today was the day she was going to realise how wrong she could be, how much she really didn't know her own self. 

James had been watching her all shift as she'd been forced to care for Charlie, who had somehow managed to fall and break both wrists as well as shattering his elbow. Sometimes Ashley really did think he did it on purpose, just to mess with her. James had been ridiculously unhelpful, not once even going near Charlie, refusing point-blank to treat him because 'you need to talk to him, you can't punish him forever' but Ashley had no intention of making up with him. Not yet.   
But he was a patient in her hospital, and he deserved care, so if James wasn't willing, she would do it herself, even if it did feel like she was a puppet and everyone around her kept tugging at the strings. 

However, it seemed like Charlie had completely let go of whatever strings he was holding, appearing very resigned, hardly speaking to Ashley at all, and when he did it was only really about his treatment, asking for more pain meds, when he would be able to leave. And only really speaking when spoken to.

Ashley felt a little deflated at that, as though he'd finally given up on her. Though why that bothered her, she had yet to figure out, much to James' frustration, especially considering they were nearing the end of the shift and there were maybe ten minutes for her to figure it out while Charlie still had the faintest of chances of overhearing, giving him the confidence boost he needed to actually ask her out. 

Of course, the universe wasn't on James' side, and they handed over the shift with Ashley still trying to figure out why it bothered her that Charlie wasn't talking to her properly anymore. 

"Do you think it's because of Abi? Like she left only on Tuesday, maybe he realised he made a mistake in turning her down and is missing her." She asked as they climbed the stairs to the flat. More often than not now, James and Jace would spend their free time there, even sometimes crashing in the spare room between shifts if they didn't have a lot of time between them. 

James refrained from reacting out-loud, keeping it to just rolling his eyes, "no, I don't think it's that."

"Why?" She turned on him suddenly, making him nearly crash into her on the stairs and she had to reach out to stop him from falling back down. "Has he said something to you? Do you know something?"

James sighed, signalling for her to carry on to the front door and let them into her apartment. "I swear I've not had enough coffee for this right now." 

"It's eleven o'clock at night, and your next shift starts in eight hours. You need sleep, not coffee. But do you know something? Like... has Charlie said something to you? He seemed so... empty."

James sighed, making eye contact with Jace as they entered, trying to ask for help non-verbally. 

"What's this? Who?" Jace asked, paying attention, trying to ask James behind Ashley's back whether or not she'd figured it out yet, which of course meant a lot of hand gestures were used. James laughed as he realised how comical they must look, before they both had to pretend to be doing absolutely nothing as Ash turned around, suspicious of his laughter. 

"-All I'm saying is, I don't know why he's so subdued. It's really not like Charlie to be like this, he bounces back from everything. Maybe I'll go down and ask if he wants me to bring Abigale back-"

"No!" The two men said way too loudly, startling her a little.

"Uh, I mean..." Jace averted his gaze, his hand glued to the back of his neck.

"What we meant..." James tried, before looking confused and muttering to himself.

"Let's talk it through," Jace said suddenly, guiding her to the sofa.

"Yes!" James said, jumping on the idea, "talking about it would probably help you work through it without having to talk to Charlie about it. you said yourself, he's being very quiet around you, he might not want to talk to you about it- wait. No, that's... I'm making this so much worse." James sighed as Jace glared at him. 

Ashley looked between the two of them, confusion and a little bit of fear evident in her manner. "Are you two... ok? Do you need some time off? You're acting stranger than Charlie." 

The two stared at each other for a second before sighing, relaxing a little more. 

"Ok. Ashley, you are so incredibly smart when it comes to books and research and knowing medical things." Jace said, resting his elbows on his knees, leaning forwards. 

"Not to make you any more big-headed..." James grinned, laughing as she swatted his arm. 

"No need to be cheeky!" 

Jace laughed a little, but carried on. "But when it comes to life and evidently people, you have no idea what's going on. So, we're going to sit here and talk you through it all, until you come to the conclusions we already know are true all by yourself." 

Ashley looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure they're true and you haven't made them up?" 

James looked up to the ceiling, "Merlin help me right now." 

"Yes, we're sure they're true. Now, think, use your brain."

"Let's be logical about this." James nodded, "why would Charlie not talking to you bother you?"

Ashley shrugged, leaning back. "It seems really quiet without his constant jabbering. I never liked quiet, not even studying, maybe-"

"Right, ok, let's go back a bit." Jace looked as though he was losing the will to live. "You said you miss it, why do you miss it. There's always noise, it's a hospital in a dragon sanctuary for Merlin's sake." 

Ashley stayed silent, trying to go through so many reasons in her head. "I don't know. It sort of... made everything just a little better when he was making his dumb jokes and arguing all the time about being admitted. Like, when we'd have a mass casualty event, it was a bit of a distraction."

"Hey!" James grinned, stifling a yawn, "we're getting warmer. Why would it make everything better?"

"Didn't it make it better for you?" 

James shrugged, "a little, not much. I was mostly focused on the work, I'll admit."   
Jace nodded, agreeing with him. 

She stared at them for a few seconds before quickly leaning forward, making Jace flinch back a little. "Really?" 

They shrugged, "besides," James glanced at Jace beside him, "his jokes and quips were mostly aimed at you, not us."

Thinking back to a few events, she slowly realised they were right, he mainly spoke to her whenever he was in the hospital, even if one of the guys was closer. "Ok, so we were good friends and I wrecked it, tell me something I don't know."

"I need-" Jace stood, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"Ashley. For the love of all things sacred, use your brain!" 

She rolled her eyes, sitting back, mostly lying down with her arms crossed, sulking like a toddler before things started adding up in her brain. "Oh- oh. Oh, this isn't good." She stood, forgetting that James and Jace were even there as they stared at her, hopeful that she'd finally figured out that Charlie was in love with her and she did love him back, regardless of what she was saying. "Oh no no no no no." She turned to them, desperation etched into her face, "I can't still be in love with Charlie!"

"Fuckin finally!" James shouted before throwing himself backwards on the table they'd spelled to feel like a bed. 

"Soooo..." Jace said with a grin as wide as his face, "what are you going to- wait, why is it a bad thing?" He realised, frowning. 

Ashley rolled her eyes, "I already ruined the friendship once!"

"Say what now?" James sat up immediately, looking as though he was about to cry. "Ashley-Rae, I can't believe I'm saying this right now, but even me, an asexual-aromantic man, can tell you that you did not ruin the friendship by telling him you love him."

Ashley sat on the floor, knees drawn up, holding her head in her hands, staring at her shoes. "Well with the way I've been treating him-"

"I can't, I'm going to bed, wake me when she's out of this wormhole." James stood, shaking his head and disappearing into the spare room to sleep before his next shift at seven in the morning. 

Jace looked so defeated, sitting back on the table heavily. "I... I have no words right now, Ash."


	41. a little overdramatic

2 March - 3 March

Charlie didn't know how it had come to this, with James trying to convince him that he really needed to try again, just one last time, to tell Ashley he loved her. He didn't see the point, he thought it was obvious she didn't like him even as a friend anymore, so he'd stopped bothering her. He'd decided maybe it was time to try and move on. Why James thought differently, he didn't know but he wanted to find out, which led to him agreeing, albeit a little hesitantly, to roleplay it out yet again. 

Which obviously led to Jace walking in on the two of them while James was mid love confession, complete with a yellow towel on his head.

Blinking, Jace was still trying to make sense of what was going on before stupidly blurting out, "James, you have a towel on your head."

The two men stared at him for a second before James managed to respond. "I'm Ashley."

"We're roleplaying," Charlie explained, relaxing a little, looking exhausted.

"Oooo can I be Charlie?" Jace grinned excitedly, closing the door and throwing his bag to a corner. 

"No, I actually am-"

"Yes!" James yelled, going to their airing cupboard and finding another towel, changing the colour to bright orange. 

"What's the towel for?" Jace asked, curiously, reaching for it. 

"He has long hair, you have to wear the towel." 

"You don't have to-"

"I'm wearing the towel, Charles!" He placed it over his hair, not being particularly careful with his curls as he'd have a shower anyway after and wash them. "Right, watch and learn, we're going to show you how to profess your undying love for Ashley." 

Charlie sighed, shaking his head, though secretly amused at whatever was unfolding before him. 

"Ok." Jace cleared his throat. "Ashley I need to talk to you."

"I thought I told you-" 

Jace and Charlie immediately started laughing as James spoke in a falsetto voice with a hand on his hip.

"What?" James spoke innocently, still in the falsetto tone. "I don't know what's so funny!"

Jace managed to compose himself enough to carry on going. "Ok, sorry, I'm all good." 

James rolled his eyes, dropping the fake high-pitched voice, "at least attempt to do a British accent!" 

"Umm..." He looked a little lost for a few seconds before saying, "Ashley, I need to talk to you about something," in a half fake English accent, half badly-imitated Manchester accent. 

"Not even close but it will do." Charlie laughed.

James revered back to his too-high-pitched falsetto. "I thought I told you I don't want to talk to you!" 

"Ashley, please, I know what I did was idiotic." 

"It was not-"

"The grownups are teaching, Charles!" James said, being slightly overdramatic, never dropping in pitch. "You broke my heart, Charlie!"

Jace stifled a laugh at James' overdramatic acting, deciding if James was going all out, he would too. "I'm so sorry Ashley, But I need to tell you something." He clutched his hands to his chest, acting as though he was in a soap opera.

"What is it?" James batted his eyelashes at him.

"I'm in love with you!" James gasped as Jace flung his arms wide, nearly smacking Charlie in the process. "I have always loved you, and I want to spend my life devoted to you!" 

"I never stopped loving you, Charlie! Let's get married!" James leaned in as though to kiss Jace, who grinned and kissed him in the cheek instead, making James burst out laughing. 

"You- I-" Charlie looked at though he wanted to laugh but wasn't sure if he was allowed to. "I'm really not sure that's how it's going to go. Besides, don't you think we should go on at least one date before deciding to get married?" 

Jace shrugged.

"I think that's exactly how it'll go," James declared. "Besides, dates are just the fine print, you two better give me grandbabies!"

Charlie looked horrified for a moment, "do baby dragons count?"

"Absolutely." Jace nodded firmly, the towel falling down and obscuring his vision. "Ah, I seem to have been blinded."

James pulled it up out of his eyes.

"Thank you, love." Jace grinned, keeping up the charade of 'Charlie and Ashley'.

"No problem, my dearest." James laughed, going along with it for a little longer. He'd admit, it was fun acting it all out and being overdramatic, but it was fairly draining.

"Ok, so maybe it'll take a few years until you two get married, if that's what you want, but really, it'll go well if you just tell her."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You're missing one major thing in this interaction." The two friends glanced at each other. "Ashley will refuse to listen like always, she'll shut the conversation down as soon as I even think about starting it."

Jace thought for a moment, not knowing how to get past that.

"So make her listen." James shrugged. "Corner her during her shift or whatever, just make her listen." 

"No, don't ambush her," Jace rolled his eyes, "but yeah, I agree, you're going to have to make her listen. If that means leading with the fact that you're in love with her then-"

"That is even worse than my idea!" James explained, making Charlie sigh in defeat. 

"Ok, just... say you need to talk to her as a matter of urgency. She usually listens when it's urgent. And tell her she'd not allowed to say anything until you've said your piece, that she has to hear you out."

James stared at Jace with a look of bewilderment, and Charlie was staring at James, wishing he would make a better suggestion than that.  
"No, yeah, that's the best idea, and I can't think of another way to make her listen to you. Ashley really is stubborn to a fault." 

-

Charlie had listened to approximately five people in his life before now: his mother, Mr Newt Scamander, Hagrid, his older brother Bill, and Ashley. James and Jace took that number up to seven.   
The only issue with listening to, and taking, their advice was that he still didn't know when to actually tell Ashley that he loved her. Of course, he wasn't listening to James and ambushing her on shift, but the fact that she lived in the flats above the hospital made it impossible for him to 'accidentally' run into her after her shifts. 

At a couple of minutes after four in the morning, and faced with a sleepless night, Charlie decided to get up and go for a walk to the ridge. He hadn't gone for many late-night walks to the ridge, even since Ashley had left over a year ago, but they still calmed him when he couldn't sleep, when he was overthinking or anxious, so he decided maybe it would help clear his head. 

The early March air hit him as he stepped outside, and he hugged his hoodie closer, silently casting a few silent spells to keep himself warm, before heading to the ridge. He watched for a bit, as some of the near-grown dragons got a little too cocky, ending in the trainers having to put them in 'time out' away from the other dragons so they didn't have a full-on brawl on their hands. 

"You're out late." 

Charlie turned to see Ashley-Rae standing less than two meters away from him. "So are you." 

She shrugged, not looking at him, their faces slightly illuminated by the tip of her wand. "Couldn't sleep." 

He paused, not knowing if he should try talking to her right then. There really couldn't have been a better set up, it was as though fate had constructed it for him, but he had no idea how to start the conversation. "Ash I need to talk to you about something." 

"Don't make me regret walking over here."

"Please, just listen. Why can't you hear me out?" Charlie pleaded, following as she walked away; he really wouldn't get another opportunity like this now. 

"Ashley-Rae didn't answer, refusing to stop or even turn and face him.

"I just want to talk, please, just listen to what I have to say, and then you can do with it what you like."

"Why are you so intent on having this conversation?" She still refused to face him, not stopping or slowing down even a little; she really couldn't deal with him seeing how much it still hurt, even now.

"Because you're- I have to talk to you about it." He sighed, exasperated, not quite sure if he should just blurt it out. 

"Why? Why are you so set on having this conversation? Why are you so determined to hurt me over and over again?" 

Charlie slowed, no longer chasing her, running a hand through his tangled hair. He could hear the tears in her voice which only made him more frustrated at himself, until he finally yelled, "because I'm in love with you and you won't let me!" Ashley stopped, still not facing him. "Because I'm so in love with you, and you refuse to hear it." He spoke softer now, but still loud enough for his words to be bringing in her ears. 

She stood, frozen, unable to face him.

Approaching, he carried on. "I've been falling for you more and more each day," he spoke softer, quieter, still. "Ever since you first called me 'princess' and yelled at me, I've been falling, and I just want you to catch me." 

Slowly turning to face him, Ashley was still trying to figure out her thoughts in her head. "Why- why didn't you write? Respond to my letter?"

"Because I had no idea what to say, and the only person I wanted to tell, the only person I trusted to help me figure out the right words was you. And then, it... well, then it was too late. And then at the wedding, when I saw you there, everything just... it didn't matter anymore. Only when I tried to talk to you..." He tried to find the words.

"Only as soon as you tried to tell me everything, hell rained down upon us." It was barely more than a whisper, her eyes still not meeting his. "I don't think I ever stopped loving you." She dried her eyes with her sleeves, "even though it probably looked like I had, even though I convinced myself I had. I'm still in love with you." She managed then, to look up at him.

He stared, completely lost in her eyes for a moment. "I... um, I know I shouldn't ask, but no one else is here and James and Jace's role-play of this was way too dramatic, so, uh... what do I do now?"

Laughing, Ash rolled her eyes, "Charles Weasley, would you like to go for dinner with me?"

He grinned from ear to ear, eyes and heart full of love. "I'll pick you up at eight."

Ashley paused for a moment. "James and Jace did role-play?"

Charlie laughed, "yeah. It was very... dramatic. And involved too many towels."

Ashley giggled at the thought of the two prancing around with towels over their hair like morons. "Did they have an orange one for you? You do have long hair."

Charlie laughed, nodding, "and James had a yellow one for you." 

"How was his impression of me?"

Thinking back for a moment, Charlie decided on, "interesting. Definitely something I've never seen before, and I think he might have cracked a few of his glasses with the way too-high pitched voice he was doing." He noticed her shivering, and smiled slightly, wrapping his arms around her. "We should get you back home, it's way too cold out here. Come on, I'll walk you."


	42. shared coffee

3 March

Ashley had no idea what she was getting herself into when she'd asked Charlie on a date. The entire contents of her wardrobe were covering her bedroom floor, shoes and her hope for finding something to wear scattered across the living room, and still, she was struggling to know what on earth she was doing. 

She hadn't told James or Jace yet, they had the morning shift and she was asleep for most of it, so Ashley had decided to go down just before the end of their shift and tell them about the events of the previous night - slash - early hours of the morning, but staring out across her apartment, she thought momentarily about cancelling it. No point going if she had nothing nice to wear, and she couldn't wear what she'd worn before; she wanted to look as though she'd made an effort, and re-wearing an outfit? She wasn't sure that would be ok, plus, Ashley really wanted it to go well, and for some reason, her mind equated a nice outfit that she hadn't worn before with Charlie to things going well. Irrational, but there were more pressing matters than debunking her irrational thoughts, namely finding something to wear for her date with Charlie in less than six hours. 

Five minutes before their shift ended, she managed to step over everything littering the floor, only tripping maybe five times, and ran down to the hospital to catch them.   
James noticed her just as Jace was finishing handing over, looking a little bemused at her being in such a rush and looking so completely lost and anxious. "You ok?" 

"Yeah," Ashley nodded, "I just need your help. And I need Jace too." 

James still looked confused. "So you need my help but you need Jace there too?"

"Please?" She gave a hopeful smile.

Sighing, he agreed, pulling Jace to the back instead of walking back home together. 

"What's going on."

"Not a clue, but Ash needs my help." James shrugged."

Jace nodded. "So why am I here?" 

"Beats me." He pushed the door open, staring in bewilderment at the lack of floor space. "Um, Ashley?" He called through, trying - and failing - not to stand on anything as he tried to get to her bedroom, which he rightly assumed was in a similar state.

She looked at them both in defeat. "I don't know what to wear."

The two men looked at each other, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I asked Charlie on a date." She spoke quietly, but both heard her perfectly. 

Turning, they stared at her with a mixture of shock and relief. "Finally! Man, I thought it would never happen!" James cheered.

Jace laughed, shaking his head, "seems your carefully engineered plan worked!" He nudged him. 

Ashley grinned, "I heard about the towels."

"So, you need help trying to decide what to wear?" James stared at the mound of clothes. For someone who never spent too long in one place, she really did have a lot of stuff. "What about that nice dress, the green one? You look good in that." 

"Wore it at my twenty-first for dinner with my dad and Charlie. has to be something nice that he's not seen me in before." 

James raised an eyebrow, looking at everything laid out, turning to look at her shoes, before sighing in defeat, "we'll have to go to town. Seriously, you have nothing like that, all of your clothes are work-clothes or he's seen you in at some point."

Ashley threw herself back onto the bed. "I figured as much."

"Come on, we're going on a trip to town, get your stuff." Jace clapped his hands. He grabbed his bag from where he'd dropped it by the front door when he'd seen the mess, and lead them all out, the three of them trooping off to the nearby town. "Shall we go to that shop with the weird shopkeeper lady? Has James met her yet?"

"What weird shopkeeper lady?" James asked, looking curiously over to Ashley.

Sighing, she told him about the lady in the shop, and how she had such an adverse reaction to her whenever she walked in. 

"It was as though she knew Ashley, though Ash is adamant she's never met her before." Jace shrugged.

James shrugged, shivering slightly as his hand brushed against Jace. He shoved that feeling away, telling himself he'd figure out what was going on later. "Maybe she knew your parents. Do you look like your mum?"

"Don't know, I hardly remember her, really, and dad never kept any photos of her after she left." Ashley sighed as they reached the edge of town. 

"Come on, let's go to her shop. She does have some nice things."

James looked a little wary. "Nice things for a date, or just nice things?"

Ashley rolled her eyes, "there was a reason I asked for your help and not Jace's. He has no idea how to categorise 'nice'." 

-

Two hours later and the three of them were again sat in the coffee shop Ashley and Jace had sat in before, talking about what was up with the weird shop-keeper. 

"I still think she might be your mom," Jace said, warming his hands on his mug. 

Ashley rolled her eyes.

"I thought you two might have been exaggerating when you said she acted strange but damn, she spent half her time staring at you and the other half completely avoiding you!" James leaned back in his chair, crossing his ankle over his knee. "Have you ever thought of just asking her what her deal is?"

Ashley rolled her eyes again, "I doubt she'd answer me. Besides, I'm not sure I want to find out."

James and Jace turned to stare at each other before looking back. "What the fuck does that mean?" James asked, leaning forward. Jace followed suit, grinning as though there was some gossip he was about to get in on.

Ashley refused to look at either of them. "I mean... what if she is related to me - to my mother. Then what? And if she is my mother, which, by the way, I still doubt, what in Merlin's name am I supposed to do then? Ask why she left? Fat chance."

"You wouldn't want a relationship with her if she was?" Jase asked, raising an eyebrow, leaning back again, drinking his coffee. 

James stared sadly down at his empty mug.

"I don't know. I've never thought I'd meet her again, I sort of..." She trailed off, pushing her own empty mug to the side. "By the time I was twelve I'd written off ever seeing her again, so I never thought about what I would do if I did. And she did walk out on me, so I'm not sure I'd want a relationship with someone so willing to abandon me."

James looked a little lost in thought for a moment, looking down as Jace placed his coffee in front of him. "Wh- uh, what?"

"I won't finish that, you have it." Jace grinned for a split second before going back to Ashley, but James couldn't hear their conversation. He had no idea what was happening in his mind. It was nearly impossible for him to believe that after nearly thirty years, James had a crush. It was such a childish word, he thought, and one he wasn't sure matched his feelings. He'd never wanted to date someone before, hold their hand or anything. He'd never really found dating appealing. And here was Jace making him question himself all over again. 

"James!" 

Snapping out of his daydream, James looked up at Jace, who's just shoved his shoulder. "Yeah, hi, I'm here."

Laughing, Ashley said, "we're making a bet on who we think she is, whether she's related to me or not." 

"I've said she's her mum, Ashley's said she thinks she's not related, though probably knew her mother, what are you saying?" 

James stuttered for a second before arranging his words. "Probably like an aunt or something." He shrugged, "if you don't remember her at all, it's probably a more distant relation." 

"If we're even related at all," Ashley wasted no time in pointing out. 

James drank Jace's still warm coffee, refusing to let his mind wander all over again. 

"Once you've finished your coffee, we'll go, Ash still needs to get ready." Jace nodded to the bags piled on the empty chair next to her. 

James nodded, swallowing the last of it. "Ok, I'm good." He nodded, and they all grabbed their bags and headed out back to the sanctuary.

Ashley noticed he was a little more subdued now, but pushed it to the back of her mind to address later when her mind wasn't completely overrun with way too many thoughts about the date with Charlie in just under three hours. 

-

Ashley stood in front of the mirror, still a little anxious about the date, but no longer about her outfit. She felt good, confident, so hopefully that meant things would all go ok on the date. She wondered where Charlie was taking her, but pushed that thought out of her mind when James finished doing her hair, turning off and setting down the curling iron. 

"You look gorgeous." He smiled, making eye contact with her in the mirror. 

"Nearly time, you ready?" Jace poked his head into the room. "Oh, that dress is so pretty on you! Damn, Charlie's jaw going to hit the floor once he sees you." 

Ashley grinned, blushing slightly. "Thanks!" 

"Now, do we need to have the safe sex talk?" Jace crossed his arms with a cheeky grin on his face as Ashley and James stared at him in horror. 

"Not while I'm present, you don't!" James shuddered, making Jace laugh.

"Sorry, Jay. But seriously, I'm too young to have grandbabies, so," Jace pointed his finger and Ashley, giving her a stern look as the doorbell rang. "Go have fun, we'll lock up here."

Ashley thanked them, giving them both a quick hug before grabbing her blazer jacket and bag, rushing to the front door where Charlie was waiting in a pastel green shirt and black slacks, a blazer in his hand.   
"Hi." She breathed.

He stared for a few seconds before finding his words. "you look... incredible. Wow, just..." He stood back to admire as she twirled with a small giggle. "You're beautiful." He planted a kiss on her cheek, just by the corner of her mouth, leaving her wanting more. 

"Thank you. So do you." Ashley blushed, "I mean, not beautiful, not that you're not beautiful, but you look... you look good." She managed, looking away as Charlie laughed.

"Beautiful works."

She wasn't sure if he was teasing, but it was Charlie, so there was always a chance he was being deadly serious. "Come on, we'll be late."

Charlie held his hand out with a smile, and she laced her fingers through his, setting off towards the town. 

Back at her apartment, the two men were cleaning up the cups in the sink from the numerous cups of coffee James had had (Jace wondered if his blood was just pure caffeine) and dinner they'd made themselves while helping Ashley to get ready. 

"You've been really quiet since town, is everything ok?" Jace asked as they walked down the stairs, locking the doors behind them, leaving the key on top of the doorframe of the room than no one had known existed until a month ago. 

James nodded, "yeah, just thinking some things through. Managed to stress myself out over them, but I think I've figured it out."   
Lying had never come easily to James, he only hoped he was better at it than he thought, otherwise Jace would surely see through his poor attempt at even convincing himself he'd sorted everything in his mind. 

Jace didn't call him out on it if he did know James was lying, at least not yet, which James was definitely grateful for. They walked back to their place in near silence, though neither really felt the urge to say anything, just enjoying each other's company and the walk.


	43. still figuring it out

5-6 March

James was struggling more and more to come to terms with whatever was going on in his mind, and he had a feeling that Jace was starting to notice his absent-mindedness. It didn't help that he was plagued by dreams of his roommate.  
Really, it seemed fate loved to play cruel tricks, making him question himself all over again. For nearly twenty years, James had accepted his orientation, the fact that he didn't have romantic attraction or sexual attraction towards anyone. And now... well, he was still asexual.

But at twenty-seven, he was feeling what he'd only read about, or what close friends had described to him, for the first time. How he was supposed to process this was beyond him, and was also the reason he was still awake when Jace arrived home at half-eleven at night after a shift at the hospital. 

"You alright, James?" Jace frowned a little, noticing the empty mug still cradled in his hands.

Nodding, James placed the mug on the counter. "Yeah, just can't sleep." James couldn't look at him, afraid if he did that Jace would see right through him.

"Can't sleep because of the coffee or so the coffee?" 

He didn't know how to answer that at first. "Both?" 

Laughing, Jace nodded. "Ok, give me five and I'll make some more coffee." He disappeared into his own room to change out of his work clothes, before emerging again. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if one day you cut yourself and your blood has been replaced by coffee."

"I can make coffee, you can go to bed. It's late." 

"I could do that, yeah," he agreed, setting the coffee machine to make James' favourite, "but then I wouldn't hear about what's got you up still when you have a strict bedtime of ten pm when you're not working."

James couldn't exactly argue with that; Jace would definitely see right through him if he tried to lie, and even then, it was hopelessly obvious something was bothering him.

Jace smiled gently, placing the cup of hazelnut cappuccino in front of his roommate and sitting opposite him at the breakfast bar. "What's going on? Whatever it is, I'm here for you, we can talk through it and try to figure out how to fix whatever problem you're stuck on."

Trying to find the right words was difficult, plus with the added anxiety of telling Jace that he might actually have feelings for him, it was a little overwhelming. Taking a deep breath, he managed to sort out what he was going to say. "So for as long as I've known I never really wanted to date anyone, I never found anyone really attracting, either in a romantic way or a sexual way. And now I think I might want to date someone? But I don't know, all I know is I've never felt like this before and it's weird and I don't know how to deal with it. Like, I'm nearly thirty, and I'm having to rethink my entire romantic orientation."

silence descended, and James wondered if he should have said so much now, but it was said and he couldn't take it back. 

"Ok, well." Jace raised his eyebrows, trying to digest all of the information James had just given him. "That's definitely a conundrum. Ok, describe how you feel when you see them or when you talk to them, maybe then I can help you distinguish romantic feelings from anything else." 

"Sort of... soft. Like my heart starts racing a little, and I feel sort of anxious, but like in a good way."

Jace nodded, "ok, yeah, that- that sounds like you could be experiencing romantic attraction. I'm assuming you don't sell any sexual attraction?" James shook his head. "Ok, that makes it a little less confusing, I suppose. Have you thought about dating them? Like, is that something you'd want to do? Like holding hands and kissing?"

James nodded, still not being brave enough to speak up about it. 

Jace could feel his anxiety around the subject, noticing his hands shaking a little before grabbing the coffee and drinking half of it in one go. "Ok, so let's assume that you're not aromantic and that maybe you're something else. Guy or girl?"

"Guy. Which... that's something else I'm struggling with, but I can come to terms with that easier than the fact that I'm not aromantic. I don't know what's going on." He was shaking, he knew Jace had noticed, but he couldn't help it. It was a little overwhelming, questioning his identity all over again after so many years. 

"Here," he moved around, sitting next to James and putting an arm around him, "we'll figure it out."

James nodded, leaning into Jace.

"Wanna watch a movie? Keep you at least a tiny bit distracted?" Jace suggested, and James nodded, though he didn't want to move. Jace laughed a little, before easily picking him up and carrying him over to the sofa. "If you end up dating this person, you best make sure they can handle your needy ass."

Pouting, James crossed his arms, though he knew Jace was just joking with him. And then he said something which he immediately regretted. "I'm fairly certain you already can." 

It felt like time had stopped, Jace not moving, James holding his breath, wondering why the fuck he'd just said that out loud. 

Jace turned, his expression one of shock and disbelief. "Are... Are you like, fucking with me right now? Are you joking or serious, like... Tell me if you're joking before I respond to that."

"I-" James looked a little lost, eyes wide, still trying to figure out why he'd said that. "I'm not." He spoke slowly, not sure how Jace was going to react. 

Nodding, Jace turned back to the tv, inserting the DVD and pressing play before standing and sitting on the opposite side of the sofa, facing James, trying to form some sort of coherent sentence.

"I know you probably don't like me back, and that's ok, I really wasn't expecting you too, I was just so completely overwhelmed with the fact that I have all these-"

"Stop," Jace spoke quietly, but James still obeyed. "Let me just try and process this for a second." 

Silence fell, James still an anxious wreck, pulling the blanket from the side over him and wrapping himself in it for comfort, Jace looking as though he didn't quite understand what was happening, staring at James.

"I- hm." Jace let out a sigh, looking to the ceiling, as one does when they're trying to figure out a particularly difficult maths problem. The both of them were ignoring the movie playing in the background. "Forgive me if I say the wrong thing. Ashley told me all about you before I came here, she used to write to me a lot, and when it was confirmed I'd be coming here and you agreed to let me stay with you, she even told me you were aro-ace. So, I knew coming here and living with you that we were to be strictly platonic, which I was fine with. It's what I had expected, you were what I expected. This I didn't expect, nor did I ever imagine." 

James nodded, not meeting Jace's piercing gaze. 

"But," Jace carried on, "A few weeks ago, three at most, small things just started building, you'd do something as small as leaving a cup of coffee for me to wake up to when I had the early morning shift, or you'd make me lunch or breakfast alongside your own without asking. Without having to ask. And..." Again, he tried to find the right words. "I told myself it wasn't allowed because as Ashley can attest, I don't deal very well with heartbreak or loss. And I didn't- I didn't want to lose your friendships or get heartbroken over someone who could never like me back. And now..."

"And now I do," James whispered, "and it's a bit much to process."

Jace nodded. "It's not that I don't want his, Merlin knows I do. But processing that I can is..."

James nodded, now looking up at Jace. 

Jace felt like he couldn't breathe, as though he was drowning in whatever was going on in his mind, and wondered if James was feeling the same. He reached out a hand, which was quickly taken, and pulled James close to him, wrapping his arms around him, shifting to lie down. 

"You're going to make us both fall off this sofa." James squirmed. 

"Only- only if you keep moving!" He laughed in response, managing to successfully lie on the sofa, head resting on a cushion, with James lying on top of him, trapped between his arms and his chest. 

James rested his head under Jace's chin, hugging him as best as he could lying down. "Thank you." He mumbled, staring at the tv, not really able to pay any attention. 

"What for?"

"Helping." 

Jace grinned, letting out quiet chuckle. "Any time."


	44. honeymoon phase

7 March - 8 March

With moving back to the sanctuary and with all of the chaos that had come with it, especially with the new timetable and shifts, Ashley had had to give up Callia to one of the trainers. Taking care of a kitten had been fun, and she'd enjoyed the company, and it broke her heart when she'd had to do it, but it wasn't fair on Callia to be all alone for so many hours.   
And even months later, Ashley still missed her, but it was getting easier. That being said, she hadn't visited Mango or Mila in a while, so she decided after her first shift on Sunday, she would go down to the pit and visit them. 

James was acting a little stranger, though it was a good change from the previous few days where he seemed to be preoccupied with something that made him anxious. Today it appeared he was preoccupied with something that made him daydream with a smile on his face, though Ashely couldn't know what would have him like that; it couldn't be a girl, for as far as she knew he still identified as aro-ace. 

"What's got you all dreamy and happy?" She smiled.

"Can't I just be happy?" James grinned back, though there was definitely something different about it, Ash thought. 

"I suppose... but you being this happy for no reason is not normal and I'm going to get to the bottom of it." 

He rolled his eyes playfully, "I don't doubt that for a second."

Ashley narrowed her eyes at him before walking away to hand over the hospital to Katy and Taylor. 

James knew she would find out eventually, but him and Jace wanted to tell her together, which probably meant they would tell her when they changed over for the shifts the next morning at 7. Not that he minded, it wasn't as though he couldn't keep a secret, but he knew he seemed a lot happier than normal and Ashley knew him too well for her to not notice and think something was going on. The only saving grace he had was the fact that she still thought he was romantic - and he wasn't completely convinced he wasn't, or at least some variant of it if that was even possible - so she probably wouldn't guess what was happening. Not immediately, anyway. 

Ashley smiled at James as they walked out, separating as James went home to get some food and Ashley walked over to the pits to go and see Mango and Mila. She knew she should probably get lunch first, but she wasn't particularly hungry with all the coffee she'd had on shift, and she decided it couldn't hurt to eat a little later anyway.   
Though, admittedly, she didn't expect to see Charlie there already with Mango, trying to get her to listen to him. 

"Afternoon, Charl," Ashley smiled, giving him a quick kiss.

He smiled, relaxing a lot more now she was there. "Afternoon. Nice shift?" 

She nodded. "What you doing with Mango?" Reaching up, she scratched Mango's scales as she bowed her head to allow her to do so. 

"Trying to teach her some basic commands, but she's never listened to me. Maybe she'll listen to you; you were always her favourite." 

Ashley stared at him in shock. "I'm sorry, you want me to what? I have no idea how to even do that, Charlie, I've never really properly worked with dragons."

He smiled softly, "I'm here, I'll guide you." He moved to stand behind her, changing her position slightly, to look slightly more authoritative and told her what to say, helping her with anything she wasn't sure about. 

"So like..." Ashley waved her hand down, instructing Mango to crouch and lower her head to them. "Like that?" She asked as Mango crouched, still looking annoyed that she was being asked to do so. Ashley wasn't aware dragons had such expressive faces or eyes, but she could definitely tell how Mango was feeling about the whole thing. 

"Perfect!" He hugged her from behind, spinning her around a bit, the two of them laughing. "See, told you you could do it!"

She smiled, leaning into him as he put her down again, facing Mango. "I didn't really do much, you did most of it for me!" She smiled, "but thank you." 

He smiled softly. "You had lunch yet?" She shook her head. "Come on, I'll make us something at mine." 

-

"You really think that thunderbirds are cute?!" Ashley laughed, finishing dinner. After Charlie had made her lunch, they'd decided to spend the rest of the day together, until she had to go back to work at least, so he's made dinner at his place for the two of them. 

"They're so nice and gentle once you have their trust!" Charlie defended, laughing along with her. "But hey, don't you have a favourite magical creature?" 

Ashley considered for a bit. "I don't know."

"Ashley-Rae, you can't not have a favourite magical creature!" Charlie exclaimed.

"I'm serious!" She laughed, "I've never really worked with any, not really. Though I suppose bowtruckles are cute, I like those. And I've always liked the sound of Occamies." 

Charlie chuckled, shaking his head and taking the plates to the sink to wash up. "Bowtruckles can be little buggers, but they're alright. I've never seen an occamy, though I do agree with you that they sound nice." 

Checking the time Ashley sighed. "I have like an hour and a half until my shift. I have no time to sleep but too much time to do pretty much anything else." She pouted, making Charlie laugh.

"We can watch a film or read books if you like to pass the time?" He waved his wand to make the dishes do themselves, and Ashley perked up. 

"I like both of those ideas." 

He grinned, "come on then." 

They curled up together on the sofa, Charlie casting a few spells to make the tv turn on and start a movie for them to watch together, though neither paid much attention, as they talked through it and gave each other cute kisses. 

"I love the honeymoon phase." Ashley smiled softly. 

Charlie shrugged. "I just love you."

Ashley laughed, "that was cheesy."

Kissing her lightly, he said, "but so, so true."

She checked the time before sighing. "Ugh, I have to go back to work. I'll see you tomorrow? We'll go to town for lunch, my treat." 

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "I'll walk you to work if you don't mind me crashing at your place." 

Ash shook her head before remembering she'd had a key made for him the previous day, retrieving it from her bag. "Here. I had it made for you, so you can come and go as you like." 

He took it gently, smiling up at her. "Thank you. I'll have to get you one for here." 

They got ready, Charlie grabbing some clothes and shoving them in a bag, and they set off to walk back to the hospital over the ridge. 

Charlie kissed her goodbye before disappearing up to her apartment, leaving her with Jace making coffee in the back and humming some unfamiliar tune.

"Not you as well," Ashley joked, taking her mug from him, sipping on the coffee. 

Jace gave her a questioning look, not really responding.

"James was off in fairyland all morning, smiling and daydreaming. Don't make me have to put up with that from you too." 

Jace laughed, "was he really? That's cute."

Ashley gave him a suspicious look, but he ignored it. 

"I had a good day today, and yesterday, so I'm just in a really good mood." Jace grinned at her jokingly rolling her eyes. 

"So long as you've not got your head in the clouds sing a bloody opera for all I care." 

Jace laughed, nodding. 

Luckily, it was a fairly quiet shift, with only ten people coming through for minor injuries, though Ashley was exhausted by the end of the shift. 

"You should sleep, Ash. Do the paperwork later, I'm sure Jamie wouldn't mind." 

Ashley frowned, looking at him as though he'd grown a third head. "Jamie? Since when does anyone call him Jamie?" 

Jace shrugged, smiling a little, "it's short for James, right? Anyway, it doesn't matter, but still, you should sleep."

Ash shrugged, looking towards the front as James walked in to start his shift. 

"Hey," Jace smiled, reaching out to him, kissing him lightly, his hands around James' waist. "Good sleep?"

James nodded, turning to Ashley. "You look exhausted, Ash, you sure you're ok to do the paperwork now?" 

Ashley sighed, too tired to actually register any of what was happening in front of her. "I might go upstairs and sleep for a few hours, if that's alright with you? I'll be down before the end of the shift and you can always come and get me if you need."

The two men glanced at each other, trying to figure out if Ashley actually had realised what was going on right in front of her or not.   
"Yeah, that's absolutely fine," James said.

Jace gave a small nod, before speaking. "We wanted to tell you something, though." 

"We're kinda dating." James grinned, a little giddy still. "I kinda figured I'm not completely romantic after all." 

Ashley nodded, hearing words but not quite understanding them. |"Cool! Anyway, goodnight, I'll see you in a few hours." She disappeared up to her apartment, getting changed and crawling into bed beside Charlie who was just waking up. "Hi." She mumbled into his shoulder, getting comfy before almost immediately falling asleep. 

Charlie chuckled, kissing the top of her head softly before whispering, "goodnight baby." 

Downstairs, Jace and James were still trying to figure out if Ashley knew or not, whether she was too tired to actually understand what had actually happened. 

"Maybe she's not that bothered?" James suggested, sitting back against the charting table. 

Jace rolled his eyes, yawning a little. "I still think she was too tired. She's been awake for twenty-four hours, and working for sixteen of those, so it's plausible." 

Hmm," James hummed, drinking the rest of his coffee. "Do you think she doesn't care?"

Jace smiled, shaking his head a little before standing in front of names, taking him by the waist and pulling him forward. "You're spiralling. Take a few deep breaths and don't think about it until either she realises we're dating or until we have to tell her again because she has no recollection of you even arriving today."

Jace decided to stay for a few hours, keeping James company, though James insisted he didn't have to, especially as it was his day off. But he was glad he did, otherwise, he would have missed the unmistakable crash of Ashley falling over upstairs, her appearing less than ten minutes later barely dressed, looking as though she couldn't quite believe anything was real. 

~

Ashley was exhausted after her shift, she'd admit it, though passing out as soon as she got to bed was fairly new, even when she was exhausted it took a while for her to sleep. She thought maybe it was Charlie, as she's always been able to sleep easier at his.

She didn't expect to wake up and suddenly realise what she'd witnessed before passing out for nearly five hours, but once she did, she felt as though the world had momentarily stopped, shouting, "Jace and James are dating?" while trying to get out of bed, getting tangled in the sheets, and falling out of bed in the most graceless fashion, making Charlie rush in with a concerned look plastered on his face. 

"What in the name of Dragons are you talking about? Are you ok? Are you hurt?" He helped her up, though she just disentangled herself before running into the lounge. "Ashley! Ash, stop, get dressed!" He yelled, laughing as she ran back in, hurriedly getting dressed in whatever was immediately on hand, not bothering to run a comb through her hair before running back down to the hospital, not even wearing any socks.   
Charlie raised an eyebrow, following at a more relaxed pace, appearing in the hospital doorway just as Ashley once again yelled, "You're actually dating?"


End file.
